Philadelphia (AP) -- Gov. Joe Manchin came away from two days of meetings with President-Elect Barack Obama convinced the country's future leader is ready to listen to states' concerns about the economic crisis.

Manchin, along with most of the nation's other governors, met with Obama in Philadelphia on Monday and Tuesday to talk about ways to combat the recession.

41 states are facing budget shortfalls, although West Virginia isn't one of them.

Manchin says there's a mood of desperation among some of his fellow governors, but the meeting with Obama and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden went some distance toward reassuring the leaders.

Manchin believes the meeting is a signal Obama will have an open door policy toward the nation's governors.

(Copyright 2008 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)