My open letter to Joe Manchin:

Tuesday night, and it's election night in a few places around the country. It probably can be considered a first-inning rebuke of the Obama White House and Congress.

While Virginia always seems to zag to the prior national election's zig, having a fat dude beat a billionaire Democrat for the lead office in New Jersey seems to say that change in which I can believe is afoot.

Even conservative issues had a big week under the radar. Folks in Maine successfully defended their ballot against gay marriage. After a 15-year delay, parents in Illinois are days away from the state being forced to notify them if their underage daughters try to get a secret abortion.

All that despite this cycle and 2010 supposedly being about The Economy, Stupid ... my apologies to Louisiana State football fan James Carville.

And the economy isn't going to get any better here immediately. The words coming from Gov. Joe Manchin and our state Senate are all about cuts and austerity and buying the one-ply bathroom tissue. Much like Friedrich Nietzsche, Santa is dead to those expecting him to bring state workers more raises.

Rumors of a legislative special session for the holidays solidified during the past week; expect a Charleston meeting on the merits of bailing out mismanaged municipal pension systems in our fading cities.

I didn't imagine good news either for taxpayers when I heard Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin talk on "Decision Makers" last weekend about the need for new sources of dollars for our state's roads. Sounds like maybe more fiddling with the gasoline tax to come. Maybe they'll change the name from "tax" to "reverse subsidy" to fool us.

So, here you are Gov. Manchin. The party is over. You've kept us on the straight and narrow. You've actually done a pretty good job balancing the books. But nothing you can do from that office is going to make very many folks happy or make you more popular.

The economy, even if it turns up, isn't going to cure quickly. Odds are you'll have to fight the teachers and the state employees over raises we can't afford. Fewer ribbon cuttings and more budget cutting. The former keeps you out of the paper for good news, and the folks who appreciate the latter already vote for you anyway.

Your uncooperative House of Delegates is run by ruling-party trial lawyers, unionistas and those who perpetually have a hand out.

Politically, what possible good can come of this for you in the next three years? Normally, I'd advocate an escape hatch that worked in so many other southern states: switching parties. The tea leaves are pretty clear on what the 2010 cycle should look like. But there's no Republican Party structure to which to run.

Sadly, governor, the Democratic Party left you long ago. Pro-life, pro-gun, pro-coal makes you an outcast. You even managed to wait a few weeks after the 2008 primary before you relented and endorsed the most anti-coal president in history on June 6.

Big picture, R or D doesn't matter for Gov. Manchin or Shelley Moore Capito. Either could run on the Likud ticket and would still win most any office here. Personalities matter. As long as both continue on parallel tracks that never intersect, neither should lose a race.

So here's a way to stay busy for the next year as governor that's going to be no fun whatsoever and ensures that an adult like Tomblin runs state government for the final two lame-duck years of your term.

Run for Congress. No, hear me out. Rep. Alan Mollohan is damaged goods. They keep coming at him with corruption charges. He doesn't raise much money or campaign like you can. If an indictment ever comes, he loses that election in the revenge climate we'll have in 2010.

Even if it doesn't, can Joe Manchin really lose a primary to Alan Mollohan? Really? He's one of the most anonymous people in Congress and in his district. He hasn't been in a competitive race since 1992. See how many voters in Wheeling can pick him out of a lineup.

Call it what you want. Brand yourself anti-corruption and pro-taxpayer. Tell the voters of the northern third of West Virginia that unlike Mollohan, you will vote to stop socialized public option health care or cap and trade.

Tell the voters you can better protect our way of life from D.C. while eating the congressional $50 Happy Meal at Charlie Palmer Steak every night. Polls say 70 percent of us believe almost everything you say.

It guarantees a Republican would not hold the office in the 1st District. It lets you get on the record and make all the right votes en route to that U.S. Senate campaign someday. And just in case the Republicans win enough seats to come close to the majority in 2010, imagine the political capital you'd have as a party-switcher to the GOP.

Seems way more fun than two years cutting budgets and saying "no" to a lot of folks. Just say "yes" to Congress.

No matter what you do the next couple even-numbered years, you do need to get your name back on the Internet. JoeManchin.com and JoeManchin.net are for sale on eBay for $750 or best offer. http://tiny.cc/manchinebay. Some smart lady in Vienna appears to have cybersquatted you.

Rob Cornelius of Parkersburg writes a column for The State Journal. His e-mail address is robcwv@gmail.com.