It was Friday afternoon, and President Joe Biden was on the phone with Sen. Joe Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who felt blindsided by his party leaders and now was at risk of defecting and effectively torpedoing a central pillar of the White House’s domestic agenda.It was Friday afternoon, and President Joe Biden was on the phone with Sen. Joe Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who felt blindsided by his party leaders and now was at risk of defecting and effectively torpedoing a central pillar of the White House’s domestic agenda.