Moments of adversity lend themselves to reflection. Take Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat fighting for his political life in the midterm elections.
Manchin told the Charleston Gazette-Mail that if he could do anything over again in his long political career, he’d take back his endorsement of Democrat-turned-Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.
“I feel very bad for the people I asked to support Jim; I did not know the lack of character, or the political character that he is,” he said. “I knew Jim as a person before, who we had a great relationship with. I didn’t know being a politician could change a human being as much as it has changed him.”
It was the biggest “mistake” of his career, Manchin told that paper only to clarify afterward during a subsequent interview that it was the greatest “disappointment” of his career. And that is interesting, considering that two other political endorsements now threaten to end Manchin’s political career – his endorsements of Barack Obama for president in 2008 and of Hillary Clinton in 2016.
After all, candidate Obama promised that under his ideal regulatory regime, “if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them.” It was the first salvo in a War on Coal that would further cripple the already anemic state economy. Clinton was just as explicit, telling voters in 2016, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.”
Both endorsements are damning in West Virginia, a state whose economy has been devastated by the decline of the coal industry. But Manchin doesn’t regret campaigning for Obama or Clinton as much as Manchin regrets backing Justice. This is perhaps understandable given that the governor has jumped parties and endorsed his Republican opponent, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. But at least Justice is in line with what his constituents want. Manchin seems lost in thought.
Adversity will only increase as Election Day approaches, of course. Depending on the polls, Manchin may reconsider his biggest regret or his biggest mistake during moments of reflection.
