“I volunteered to get out before you all threw me out,” U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., said during a stop in Parkersburg recently.

Surely he knows how very much his work on our behalf has meant to Mountain State residents over the years, and that his determination to focus on that work — rather than the political theater and noise — has been deeply appreciated.

It is likely Manchin would have been given the opportunity to leave on his own terms whenever he chose.

But with the close of this chapter in his career comes the chance to speak freely about the state of politics in this country.

One reason he has continued to receive support here is his willingness to call it like it is. And right now, as we hurtle toward a monumental presidential election (and other significant decisions) on Nov. 5, Manchin had something to say. Regarding challenges on our southern border, Manchin said, “They’re both wrong.”

He went on to lay blame for our dangerously heated political atmosphere on BOTH parties.

“It’s not normal to teach people to hate the other side. There’s only one side — the American side,” he said. He talked about the “bad behavior” of extreme operators on both sides of the political aisle.

And he’s right, of course. Deep down most of us know the way we’re being encouraged to think about politics and government right now isn’t normal, or even OK.

“We’re all in this together,” Manchin reminded the audience in Parkersburg.

We must remember that — all of us, now and after the results are tallied.

— The Intelligencer of Wheeling, West Virginia