The day after Sarah Palin stumped for his Republican opponent, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said he and the former Alaska governor are “friends.”

“We get along; we’re friends,” said Manchin. “Sarah, Todd, and the entire family was always very nice at all of our National Governors Association meetings, and we worked well together.”…

And in between shaking the hands of dozens of diners at St. Anne’s Sunday spaghetti dinner, Manchin had little but pleasant things to say about the former vice presidential candidate. Standing above a sea of red-checkered tablecloths in the church social hall, Manchin told POLITICO that he and Palin got to know each other when they served together on the NGA’s Natural Resources Committee.