West Virginia’s come out of the Great Recession looking a little better than the country at large — unemployment’s 7.6 percent, and lower in the major metro areas like Charleston, Ashland and Morgantown. What gives?

Coal — an old fossil fuel that a lot of energy plants and manufacturers will need more of as the economy recovers. And natural gas, which is being pumped in record amounts across Appalachia and the Mountain West. A lot of folks in coal country consider Romney their best friend — at least when the alternative is President Obama.