nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston joins us.morning. >> good morning. >> let's talk about the way this system works. we've heard a lot about it in the days after the election but you will break it down for us. >> it's truly an oddity. one of the real oddities of american politics. let's do a quick review first of the electoral college. there are 538 electors. 100 for the number of senators, 435 for the number of representatives. 3 for the district of columbia. each state has electors to the number of senators and representatives. so california, the most populated state, gets 55 electors, while alaska with the smallest population gets 3. now, that adds up to that 538 figure. but according to the constitution the candidate who gets one more than half, that 270 number we talked about, wins the presidency. >> it's a basic question and one i think half the country was asking right after the results came in which is why? why do we have this system? >> you know, it goes back to the framers. it's hard to think about it but it is. it goe

nbc bay area's political analyst larry gerston joins us this morning. lot of anxiety certainly, no matter who you are supporting. people just have this tension. talk about the presidential election. this has been so unusual than in past races. >> michelle, tension is probably the best word of all. it's just amazing. this year's contest is really the most important in decades because, a couple of reasons. one, the nation's polarization, and, two, the likelihood that the next president will shape the supreme court for at least a quarter century because of so many possible openings. that's so crucial. along with their many liabilities, each candidate actually has an asset. hillary clinton has a superior ground game to boost a turnout. donald trump has unmatched enthusiasm from his base. so whichever of these assets is most prominent will go a long way in determining the outcome of this critical race. >> we've been spending so much time talking about the presidential race. what about the senate? what are the issues? what should we be looking out for? >> kin

our political analyst, larry gerston, joins us at 6:30 this evening on his thoughts on whether president-elect trump's use of twitter will continue once he takes over in the white house. >>> tens of thousands of cubans filed through three rooms inside the monument of the plaza of the revolution to pay tribute to their deceased leader, fidel castro. nine days of state mandated o mourning continues. what happens next and the complicated relationship between cuba and the u.s. nbc's jay gray joins us live tonight from havana. jay. >> reporter: good evening, jessica, from havana. lines that formed early this morning before the sun came up still stretch in all directions and as far as you can see here on a day filled with both emotion and uncertainty in this island nation. the blast of cannons shatters the uneasy silence that hangs over cuba right now. a 21-gun salute to el commandante. >> we are all very sad with the loss of our commander. >> reporter: streets are blocked for miles. cubans from every corner of the city. schoolchildren, adults, even the son of president raul castro. thousands waitin

larry gerston breaks it all done next.xt. >>> last june the world witnessed brexit, the british electorate voting to withdraw from the european union. now, some people here are discussing cal-exit where california could secede from the country to become its own nation. there's a propose yoal to consi the issue in 2019. larry gerston joins us. is this even a possibility? >> yeah. >> wow. >> remotely. remotely. >> i didn't expect that. >> but, yes, remotely. remember that word. >> remotely. >> the idea, of course, of california seceding from the nation is based upon what people see as really a growing disconnect between californians and the rest of the nation. here are some things that they kind of point out. first, size. size and population. california is the third largest state in terms of territory, the most populated state with one-eighth of the nation's population. separated it's sixth in the world as a nation in terms of global economy. so it's huge. second, the lack of national government support. for every dollar the

we want to bring our political analyst larry gerston back in for a final thought. will this be remembered for the rebuke of clinton or the anger that is in this country at this moment? >> it will be one of many chapters in our history. when benjamin franklin left the constitutional convention, they said what do you think about this democracy? he said it's better than anything i know. it's better than anything we know. it's the peaceful way we change government from one side to the other. there's no country that does it better than the other. the fact of the matter is it's done peacefully, another opportunity for those who lost tonight to win four years from now. that's how america works, and we're doing it again tonight. >> thank you for being with us tonight, and we want to thank you for being with us into these early morning hours. the msnbc continues our election coverage right now, and of course, in three hours from now, please join today in the bay with more local election results. have a good evening and thanks for sticking with us. good-bye. and his own word