Follow Election 2012 with Michigan Radio

On Weekend Edition,  Rina Miller talks with Michigan Radio's political analyst Jack Lessenberry about some of the biggest news stories of the week. This week they discuss election turn out, how marijuana laws have been eased in some cities in the state, and the possible change to how public defense attorneys are appointed in Michigan.

President Obama defeated one Michigan native Tuesday night, but in doing so contributed directly to the landslide victory of another.

Obama’s victories in a number of swing states vindicated the predictions of East Lansing native and celebrity political forecaster Nate Silver.

In Michigan's freaky 11th Congressional District, the Republican candidate both won AND lost on Election Day.

It all started here... when this guy's campaign imploded:

Then this reindeer rancher stepped into the race for the Republicans...

And two elections were needed to sort the mess out.

Whether your candidates won or lost this week, we can all rejoice that it’s finally over. 

Or, we think it is.  We can’t be sure anymore, can we? 

All this made me ponder the relative craziness of politics versus sports. I got to thinking: Which is sillier?  Playing politics, or playing sports? 

As silly as sports are – and I seem to devote half my commentaries to that very subject – after watching the 2012 campaigns, I can tell you, it’s not even close: Playing politics is sillier, in a landslide.

Two days post-election and there was a mixed bag of results here in Michigan. President Obama won, the State House held onto a Republican majority, all of the proposed constitutional amendments were voted down, and the emergency manager law was overturned. Michigan Radio's Jennifer White talks election results and what they mean for Michigan. She was joined by Susan Demas, political analyst for Michigan Information and Research Service, and Ken Sikkema, former Senate Majority Leader and Senior Policy Fellow at Public Sector Consultants.