Dem Joe Manchin won’t pledge support for Obama, Reid

In an ongoing effort to distance himself from his party, Democrat Joe Manchin -- West Virginia's governor, who is running for the Senate -- refused to say over the weekend whether he would support Barack Obama for president in 2012 or Harry Reid for majority leader, Politics Daily reports.

"That's such a hypothetical thing, but basically I think there's two more years that have to play out," Manchin replied when reporter Patricia Murphy asked him about the 2012 presidential race. "Things have got to change. ... I just think there's a lot of correction, a lot of changes, a lot of things that need to be fixed before I would say anything about anybody running for office."

Manchin has taken great pains this election season to impress on conservative voters that he will not be a rubber stamp for the Democratic Party. He even used a rifle to shoot a hole through a copy of the Democratic-backed cap-and-trade bill in a campaign commercial that aired earlier this month.

Manchin has many things working in his favor this election year: He's a sitting officeholder with a conservative record, he has a state network in place and he is receiving high-profile and national support from his party. But state voters say Manchin's party affiliation alone is enough to sink his campaign this year.

Independent polls continue to show Republican nominee John Raese, a former state party chair, narrowly edging Manchin in this open-seat race.

(Photo of Manchin gesturing at a Senate debate last week: AP/David Smith)