How to Select an American President: Joe Manchin's Credentials

All you have to do is read -- search Wikipedia, it's mostly there.

Joe Manchin's Credentials

As with all politicians, I begin with their resumes. What is missing from this Wikipedia-specific reference is his educational credentials other than a BS degree in business, that I have also.

Manchin graduated from Farmington High School in 1965. He entered West Virginia University on a football scholarship in 1965, but an injury during practice ended his football career. Manchin graduated in 1970 with a degree in business administration and went to work for his family's business.

Conflicts of interest

Manchin received the most funding from any senator's oil and gas industry from May 2020 to May 2021, including $1.6 million in donations from fossil fuel PACs.[56]. He also receives funding from individuals and PACs connected to law and real estate, among others.

In June 2021, ExxonMobil lobbyist Keith McCoy said that Manchin was one of its key targets for funding and participated in weekly meetings with the company. Many senators and journalists have criticized Manchin's opposition to climate change legislation given his funding by the fossil fuel industry and shares in his family-owned coal business.

Manchin is a member of the National Rifle Association.

One may wonder how the son of a carpet store owner accrued 7.6 million in personal wealth while being in public service all those years?

Manchin is a prominent opponent of policy proposals from the progressive wing of his party, including Medicare For All, abolishing the filibuster, increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court, raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, and defunding the police. He is also among the more isolationist members of the Democratic caucus, has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, and opposed most military interventions in Syria. Manchin's business interests include founding the coal brokerage Enersystems, in which he owns $1–5 million of non-public shares. He receives the largest coal, oil, and gas industry donations of any senator.