Team Obama Addresses Joe Manchin Factor

WASHINGTON -- A top adviser to President Barack Obama's campaign says he understands the political calculation behind West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's announcement that he's not sure right now whether he'll vote for his party leader in November.

Obama strategist David Axelrod says he hopes the Democratic lawmaker ultimately will warm to Obama before the election.

Manchin, who's also up for re-election, is citing concerns about Obama's economic and energy policies. West Virginia has voted Republican in the last three presidential elections.

Axelrod tells CNN "State of the Union" that West Virginia will be a "tough state for us again" and that Manchin was "making a political judgment about himself." Axelrod says he hopes Manchin will ultimately take into account wider U.S. interests.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[K Thompson]

10:45 PM on 04/23/2012

Proud to say that Joe Manchin is MY U.S. Senator.

[Donald McBee]

08:05 AM on 04/24/2012

Manchin is my Senator also, he has made me proud!
FYI I voted against him! Joe, keep doing what your doing and you will get my vote!

[MBradfordWV]

09:12 AM on 04/24/2012

This is my first post to anything ever, but just want to say I am very proud to say that Joe Manchin is MY U.S. Senator as well. I would love to see Joe Manchin as our president in the future as well.

[artbbcramer]

06:40 PM on 04/23/2012

Will the President ever stand up to these Blue Dogs, ever?

[EastCstOlsenGrl]

07:33 PM on 04/24/2012

No need to. He'll be out of office soon enough

[artbbcramer]

08:35 AM on 04/25/2012

You're dreaming.

[HawaiiShira]

05:02 PM on 04/23/2012

Joe Manchin is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He is not the Senator Byrd was, and it's disheartening to see him go the way of Lieberman or Ben Nelson.

[WilliamCooke]

01:45 PM on 04/23/2012

I know we get what we deserve, but do we really deserve West Virginia?

I mean, it's a beautiful state but so is Alaska and look what they gave us.

[Bushwhacked]

03:25 PM on 04/23/2012

I don't like West Virginia politics if they lean too far right. But WV really is a beautiful state and the people I've met there were very nice.

[dancewmoon]

09:54 PM on 06/05/2012

I live here and wouldn't vote for him if my feet were held to the fire. He is not a true Democrat but then, most of the people who vote for him on a regular basis against their own self interests, aren't either. It totally befuddles me how this guy got where he is. I find him arrogant, self interested, not caring at all for the little guy, and someone who pays lip service to issues while pulling strings and pushing buttons to manipulate the people. For him it's all about coal, and now fracking, paying his way! And Governor Tomblin is the same. He's Manchin's man. Who can forget the machinations put in actions after Senator Byrd died. Unbelievable. I came here by choice 22 years ago because of the beauty of the state but I deplore their politics. Ugh.

[Prankster]

01:41 PM on 04/23/2012

Screw Manchin! He's not a dem. He's a southern-fried bagger using the dem handle.

[xpt2wndj]

01:30 PM on 04/23/2012

The most people on food stamps in the history of the federal program and you Eric call that an accomplishment.
You are a Dil fool.

[Snerdgronk]

01:42 PM on 04/23/2012

Hey ... a trickle-down avatar.

Snerd

[McAttorney]

04:03 PM on 04/23/2012

That's what happens when Right Wing economic mismanagement pushes us to the edge of another Great Depression...

It's something called cause and effect...

[EricMorganSr]

01:23 PM on 04/23/2012

President Obama has achieved many of accomplishments. The economy is progressively improving. For 25 consecutive months, 4.1 million private sector jobs have been added to the economy; including nearly 500,000 manufacturing jobs. The stock market is at its highest since 2008, unemployment is declining while investments are ascending. American oil production (drill-baby-drill) is at an eight-year high and America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in more than a decade. Osama bin Laden has been terminated and al-Qaeda’s is at its weakest since 2001. The war in Afghanistan has ended and the troops are home. Since the Obama Healthcare law was passed 2.5 million young adults are now insured under their parents’ health insurance until the age of 26; over 47 million Medicare beneficiaries now have access to free health services; nearly 3.6 million saved an average of $604 on prescription drugs; and insurance providers can’t discriminate against Americans for preexisting conditions. The Obama administration has also implemented initiatives and programs specifically focus on improving the middle-class, women’s health, equal rights, and education and research.

Despite the accomplishments that the Obama administration has achieved, many Americans are still unemployed and their home finances are still struggling. The economy is recovering, but for many, it’s not recovering fast enough. While the economy is ambiguous and Americans are struggling to make ends meet; President Obama has the challenges of convincing the American people that America is on the right trajectory.

[K Thompson]

10:53 PM on 04/23/2012

Wow, have you been drinking the spin machine kool-aid.

[EricMorganSr]

11:14 PM on 04/23/2012

No these are the undisputed facts no matter how people try to distort them

[troutster]

01:21 PM on 04/23/2012

I'm a west virginian. I'm disappointed in Joe. He's up for re-election now against Raese. You've seen some articles about him, anti-smoking signs, Hitler, etc. Raese's an incredible j*e*r*k.

But Joe's a yellow dog. He should have been primaried this time. It's disappointing. I liked him as governor, but I'd like to not support him now. He's a major disappointment to all progressives.

[McAttorney]

04:10 PM on 04/23/2012

Until we get money out of the election process, we are always in this situation.

Even in a Deep Blue State, Jerry Brown has sold out to big oil so they will finance the gathering of signatures on his tax increase proposition that "coincidentally" does not include the same oil severance tax.

At least twice since 1981 Californians have considered proposals to impose a so-called severance tax on oil -- a levy on every barrel that drillers take out of the California ground. Both times they went down to defeat -- most recently in a $150-million initiative campaign that set a new standard for obscenity in campaign finance, thanks to Chevron and its fellow oil companies. The 2006 defeat of Proposition 87, which would have steered the tax proceeds to alternative fuel programs, preserved California's status as the only one of the 22 major oil states to give the industry a free ride. And we're the third-biggest producer in the country.

How embarrassing is it for California to be hanging out there alone? "Pro-Tax Crusader" and Alaska Semi-Gov. Sarah Palin, in 2007 raised her state's tax to 25% of the value of extracted oil and gas. Proposition 87 would have capped California's levy at 6%.

[K Thompson]

11:02 PM on 04/23/2012

Kudo's to Joe Manchin for being an independent thinker who is doing what is right for West Virginia. He is standing up against bad policies that would cripple West Virginia's economy, be it a Democrat policy or Republican policy. I want a U.S. Senator who makes decisions that are good for the people of our state rather than be a rubber stamp for a party.

[liberalcomesfromliberty]

01:10 PM on 04/23/2012

Well he is from a backwards state. I can't really believe that this MORON believes that it's worth trusting Romney and going back to the failed Bush economics policies just because his voters don't like the Black President.

[troutster]

01:27 PM on 04/23/2012

Yes, wv is a backward state. No doubt about it. But I've been around and have come to realize most "fly over" states are the same. There's a large contingent of rednecks, fundamentalists, NRA members, birthers, global warming deniers, and general goobers in most every state.

[pb28]

12:59 PM on 04/23/2012

Minchin is a portrait of cowardice and in fact Machin's shadow is afraid of its own shadow

[senator11]

12:31 PM on 04/23/2012

Barack and his "Team" will all be turning in their security passes and finally, will be told to vacate. It will be a referendum on a track record that Barack himself runs away from, and it will be a final tally that should send a loud message not just to BO on his way out, but to Democrats still around. He will have set back the Democratic Party many, many years because of both his agenda and style of governance.

There are millions of Americans that love the America that he has been so eager to change.

[Mark Cormier Arizona]

01:31 PM on 04/23/2012

Very well said.

[Prankster]

01:47 PM on 04/23/2012

You're probably happy with Otis Brewer, aren't you?

[brybry 44]

01:42 PM on 04/23/2012

There is no way that Obama could set back the democratic party as much as republicans like you have set back the republican party.

Hilariously ironic, I must say XD

[donnielee1949]

12:03 PM on 04/23/2012

Joe Manchin . Republican in Democrat clothing

[AngryMonkey]

01:24 PM on 04/23/2012

No, a friend of coal. There is a big difference in WV between the two.

[sgtriker55]

12:01 PM on 04/23/2012

"The NSA Is Lying": U.S. Government Has Copies of Most of Your Emails Says NSA Whistleblower
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfS2Op9l3nk

[AngryMonkey]

01:31 PM on 04/23/2012

You need a life. Youtube won't give you one.

[sgtriker55]

12:00 PM on 04/23/2012

Pentagon Pushes For Greater Spy Powers; Wants To Run Businesses, Like CIA
http://defense.aol.com/2012/04/20/pentagon-pushes-for-greater-spy-powers-wants-to-run-businesses/

[sgtriker55]

11:59 AM on 04/23/2012

SHOCKING ABC News on Obama/USA Infrastructure

Diane Sawyer reporting on U.S. bridge projects going to the Chinese.... NOT Americans.

The bridges are right here in the U.S. and yet Obama has approved for Chinese contractors to come

in and do the work. What about jobs for Americans???

Watch this video. It doesn't take long to view.

This one should be tough for the supporters of the current regime to swallow....AND it comes from ABC NEWS

U.S.A. Bridges and Roads Being Built by Chinese Firms

Shocking to say the least! This video is a jaw-dropper that will make you sick. (It was also shocking that ABC was actually reporting this story.)

The lead-in with Obama promising jobs in the U.S. by improving our infrastructure is so typical of all his promises! Our tax dollars are at work - for CHINA!!!

I pray all the unemployed see this and cast their votes accordingly in 2012!

CLICK here: U.S. Bridges, Roads Being Built by Chinese Firms | Video - ABC News

[Mark Cormier Arizona]

01:33 PM on 04/23/2012

I've been saying for a while now that the 3 or so million jobs Obama has been said to create was in China.

[McAttorney]

04:14 PM on 04/23/2012

Just another lie:

http://www.factcheck.org/2012/02/did-obama-approve-bridge-work-for-chinese-firms/

YAWN!