CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin has made his choice clear that he's voting for Sen. Barack Obama for president.
But when it comes to bipartisan work as a governor, Sarah Palin is someone Manchin doesn't mind having as a colleague.
"It was so funny. This past summer we were all together at an NGA conference and I said, 'How did you get involved?' She said, 'Joe, you aren't going to believe it,' and now the whole world knows it."
A photo of Manchin and Palin appeared Thursday on the New York Times Web site. It was taken at a National Governors Association Meeting. At one time, Manchin was the chair of the Natural Resources Committee, and Palin was the vice chair.
Manchin said the two mainly discussed energy.
"Tim Polante was putting together an energy plan that I didn't agree with. Sarah didn't agree with it, so it was bipartisan. We thought it was wrong because coal and energy and all we have in this country -- we felt it had to be used to our best interest and to be less dependent on foreign oil."
When Manchin is asked how Palin could help West Virginia regarding energy policies, he shifts attention back to his Democratic counterparts. Manchin also said that despite the comments Joe Biden made about clean coal last week, he knows that Obama understands the need for clean coal technology because Illinois is a mining state.