A dispatcher with some common sense would have swapped aircraft so that the one without an autopilot would have done a shorter flight.

Perhaps this PIC was one of those DCA guys that got hired at 300hours. He's known nothing but a high level of automation his entire career. If that's the case, I'm glad he had the balls to speak up about a situation he thought was beyond his skill level. If the airlines want to hire at that level of experience, they shouldnt expect much.