Voters here "want to see it for real; they don't just want to read about you. They want to touch you. They want to look at you," Manchin said in an interview.
Obama has "a good foundation, but he's far behind when it comes to pressing the flesh," Manchin said.
Waving a Clinton sign at a downtown Charleston intersection yesterday, Raymond Bias, 57, a retired ironworker from Nitro, said the West Virginia outcome "is going to show what the country really wants."
Bias rejected the notion that Clinton should drop out soon. "She's the only one who's qualified for the job," he said. "It's not over until the delegates are counted at the national convention."
He said that superdelegates should be swayed by the Clinton momentum that "started in Pennsylvania and Indiana. It's hitting into high gear and going on straight through Kentucky."
Kelly L. George, a retired legislative analyst for the West Virginia Legislature, said she would support Obama if he became the nominee.
But she said, "I don't think it's close to being over. She can still win this thing."
Christine Gillispie, 59, said many of her co-workers at the state's Department of Health and Human Resources plan to vote for McCain if Clinton does not get the nomination.
"After tonight, we just hold our breath," she said, and hope that Clinton pulls ahead. "Miracles can always happen."
david.nitkin@baltsun.com
WEST VIRGINIA PRIMARY RESULTS (63% REPORTING)
HILLARY CLINTON -- 65% -- WINNER
BARACK OBAMA -- 28%
