It's Friday, November 10, 2023, and Fridays are like a box of chocolates on the AM update.

You never know what you're going to get.

The big news out of the political world yesterday is this announcement from West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin.

I got into politics because of an argument I had 40 years ago with my dad.

John Manchin owned a furniture store in Farmington, West Virginia, a small coal-mining

town of hardworking people.

And one day our local state representative came in and asked Dad for a favor, saying, you

owe me for all the things I've done for your little town.

When the man left, I turned to my dad and said, now wait a minute,

isn't helping Farmington that man's job? That moment defined the difference between self-service

and public service. When I told my dad that I was going to run for office, he said,

oh, Joe, politics is a bad business. I'm telling you right now, stay out of it. I didn't disagree that often with my

father, but that time I did. I reminded him of the famous line from President John F. Kennedy's

inaugural address. Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.

I was 13 when I first heard it, and I'm still inspired today by it.

My family were devoted Catholics who immigrated from Italy and Czechoslovakia.

So to us, President Kennedy was held in the highest regard, and I knew President Kennedy's words would sway my dad.

It took him about a minute, but my dad said that he would support me running if I made a vow

to serve all the people, friend or foe, and not just myself.

That promise made to my dad all those years ago has been my guiding light.

I've never cared about where good ideas came from, and I never blame one side for creating a problem nor believed that only one side

could fix them. I think that should be an easy pickup for the GOP next year. Not a single senator

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