Despite his protestations to the contrary, Joe Manchin is a guy who loves the limelight and usually gets it from the media and political commentators alike, a point acknowledged by even the New York Times in a piece on a Friday stop he made in New Hampshire.
Joe Manchin, the attention-seeking West Virginia senator who has teased a late third-party presidential bid, tried to keep up the suspense at a Friday appearance in New Hampshire. https://t.co/SY4mLBJkvO
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 12, 2024
During that visit, Manchin did indeed go full metal third-party tease, coyly fielding questions on whether he'd be okay with people writing in Joe Manchin for president instead of Joe Biden, and never giving a "no" answer when pressed on his potential presidential aspirations:
“How would you feel if a bunch of Democrats in New Hampshire wrote in ‘Joe’ — not Biden — but wrote in ‘Joe Manchin’?” an attendee asked as Mr. Manchin kicked off a “listening tour” at Politics and Eggs, an event series at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics that has long hosted presidential candidates and potential contenders.
“I cannot prevent whatever you want to do,” Mr. Manchin replied to applause from the audience in Manchester, N.H., before insisting that he was “not here campaigning.”
[...]
“I’m looking for, how do you bring the country together, how do we get people involved? And if that’s a decision to make, I’ll live with whatever decision,” he said in an interview.
As he wrapped up glad-handing at the diner in Derry, where he told a Republican fan that he did not know if he would run, a reporter asked if he could name one thing that appealed to him about a third-party bid and one thing that would give him pause.
The usually voluble senator smiled, declared that he was there to bring Americans together and walked away.
At another event at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, Manchin decried people voting based on party loyalty.
"The people that are just telling me, 'I'm gonna vote for the Democrat because I'm a Democrat, I'm gonna vote for Republican no matter who it is - that's bull crap!" Manchin proclaimed. "Vote for the person. Vote for the best person who should be leading this country."
Watch:
Senator Joe Manchin slams partisan politics as "bull-crap." pic.twitter.com/pGIK40eKqq
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 12, 2024
Manchin also hinted that a decision from him on a third-party candidacy would happen after Super Tuesday.
“If there’s going to be an option or a need for an option, you’ll find out by then,” Manchin predicted. “By March, you’re going to have pretty much a lay of the land and what you’re going to have and what you’re going to be offered.”
READ: Dem Senator Just Wrecks Manchin Ploy to Escape 'D' Label as Stakes Get Higher
Considering all the other declared third-party candidates who have gotten quite a bit of national media attention, including of course RFK, Jr., Rep. Dean Phillips, and Cornel West, it's hard to see where Manchin could carve out a lane among disaffected voters who aren't looking to choose between the Rs and Ds in 2024, not to mention the logistics involved with entering the race in the next three months.
Nevertheless, the coping, seething, and fretting among the Democrat faithful in response to Manchin's New Hampshire tour was evident.
"Let’s be totally clear," woke actor Rob Reiner, who played "Meathead" on "All in the Family," wrote on the Twitter machine. "A Manchin/Christie ticket would put Trump back in the White House."
"[S]till not entirely sure what [Manchin's] doing in NH but wicked sure a No Labels ticket is nothing but a dangerous spoiler ticket," New Hampshire activist Lucas Meyer opined.
"...stop with these third party cranks like RFK Jr. and Joe Manchin," advised Connecticut Dr. Henry Rosenberg. "They are horrible people and not worthy of a vote. We must unite behind Joe Biden."
I'm not a fan of Manchin's at all, but the nightmares he causes Democrats almost make me want to root for him to join the race. Almost.
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