There was Robby Mook, Hillary Clinton's top campaign aide, known for his calm temperament and fiercely disciplined ways, and Jeff Weaver, a combative political fighter often called Bernie Sanders' alter ego, sharing a Friday night dinner at The Farmhouse Tap & Grill in Burlington, Vermont. [...] over the long months of a frequently contentious primary, the two rival Democratic campaign managers struck up an unusually friendly relationship, founded on exhaustion, goofy jokes and a shared affection for their home state of Vermont. [...] as Sanders lingers in the presidential race, refusing to concede the nomination to Clinton even as he says he'll vote for her on Election Day, the competing campaign managers have become a powerful political odd couple, responsible for engineering a graceful conclusion to a hard-fought Democratic contest. After Clinton and Sanders met at a Washington hotel this month, their managers stayed until almost midnight, attempting to hammer out an agreement that would give Sanders some of the changes he wants to make to the party's platform. Weaver, 50, who owns and operated a Falls Church, Virginia, comic book and gaming store before taking the helm of Sanders' campaign, made up gag business cards at the start of the campaign describing himself as the "comic book king." Sanders is pushing for ways of addressing key economic issues in the Democratic platform, including trade, providing free college tuition and expanding Medicare and Social Security. [...] he's kicked off a new phase of his "political revolution," campaigning on behalf of like-minded Democrats who are running for Congress or local office. The experience was remarkably friendly, Weaver recalled, allowing them to commiserate over the lack of sleep and endless travel that is part of a presidential campaign.