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As the president is fond of saying, "Here's the deal."
In every nook and cranny of our democracy, the person who gets the most votes wins. It's so simple any schoolkid can understand it.
However, when it comes to the big enchilada of all elective offices, the one in the White House, the popular vote does not guarantee a win.
But ask that same schoolkid or their parents to explain that in 25 words or less, and you'll hear a grunt.
So why not replace it with a one person, one vote concept that is used everywhere else?
That is the argument made by a bipartisan group that is pushing the national popular vote.
Because of the Electoral College, a candidate could get more votes than his opponent but, because that opponent got more votes in more heavily populated states that have more electoral votes, that candidate wins and the loser is left to ask, is that fair?
The former state Democratic Party and Republican Party chairs shout no.
They have set aside most of their philosophical differences and locked arms on promoting the national popular vote. Mark Brewer and Saul Anuzis argue the current system is about as undemocratic as you can get.
But Peter Lund, a former conservative GOP state lawmaker, thinks the Brewer-Anuzis axis is about as undemocratic as it can get, as well.
He's formed a group, Michigan Votes for Michigan Voters, to battle the national popular vote idea as he reflects, "I believe the Electoral College has served the country quite well (and) I don't want to play with it. I don't want to do an end run around it."
Lund objects to the plan because Michigan voters in the presidential election could vote for candidate X, while all the other states in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact pool their electoral college votes to select candidate Y. Y wins and X loses, along with all those Michigan voters whose votes were "meaningless," Lund laments.
Hold the phone, counters Brewer.
"This is one man, one vote," he says.
And, with the Republicans in the state Legislature primed to shortly vote no on the compact, he concludes, "It's just partisan opposition for the sake of partisan opposition."
All of this is coming to a head as the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact needs to round up enough states to get to the magic number of 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, and they currently have 205 in 16 states.
Michigan's 15 would move them to within 50.
There will be a fierce debate, and you have to wonder if that spinning noise you hear is from the Founding Fathers in their graves.