With two incumbent senators opposing each other, the vice presidential considerations will likely be culled from those with executive experience: governors, former governors or even mayors such as Michael Bloomberg. Such pairings are often marriages of convenience. Such factors as geographical and political balance may have merit, but so does personal compatibility.

If the VP is to be more than a figurehead or stuffed suit, he will have to work closely with the president. For this reason, I prefer Lindsey Graham as John McCain's running mate. It is true that his state, South Carolina, is a Republican given and that his experience is largely legislative, but he still could add much to the ticket. He and McCain are longtime friends. He has served in the executive branch and he is a good dialectician with a winning folksy touch. I think he could hold his own against whichever running mate Obama chooses.

James Mack, Ph.D.

Garner

Oil policy must change

What a contrast on the Q cover!

An expert psychologist tells us that gas prices have gone up slowly, so we don't react to the increases. Directly next to that article is a huge graph showing clearly the real price of gas declining since the 1920s up until the past four years! Who needs experts like this one?

The more likely reason for our shock at current gasoline prices is that we have woven our dependence on gasoline into our infrastructure because it has gotten cheaper year after year, lulled into ignoring the reality of an exhaustible supply.

The critical issue is this: We aren't developing our own resources. Oil reserves that we should be exploring are ruled out or being exploited by other countries. We haven't added to our refining capacity in years, and plants running continuously at capacity are prone to breakdowns. And many countries have decided that oil makes a pretty useful political weapon.

And so I will vote for the presidential candidate who shows credible promise of forcing the legislative branch to break the logjam and reduce foreign oil dependence to a level that lets us import from our friends and shut off our enemies.

Jim Mooney

Jamestown