CLICKBACK ON VP SEARCHES

This week, ClickBack asks editorial page readers to post their thoughts on the search for vice-presidential candidates by Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain, the motives of Iran in testing missiles, and Maine’s groundbreaking bottle bill. As always, visit the BDN’s Web site, bangordailynews.com, and click on the ClickBack logo in the Opinion section of the home page. Registration is required, but the BDN does not share that information with third parties. Some comments posted at ClickBack may be printed on Friday’s OpEd page.

Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain will soon pick their running mates. Who should they choose?

In the coming weeks, the two mainstream party nominees are expected to pick their vice-presidential candidates. Who should they choose and why? For Sen. Obama, some of the names mentioned include: Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Gen. Wesley Clark, former Sen. Sam Nunn, Sen. Jim Webb, Gov. Kathleen Sibelius and even Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel. Sen. McCain may be considering: former Gov. Mitt Romney, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, Gov. Charlie Crist, Sen. Joe Lieberman, a former Democrat and Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Iran tests missiles – will the U.S. do more than test?

Iran tested missiles last week, raising the stakes in a contest of saber-rattling between the U.S. and Israel and the Persian Gulf nation that is defiantly anti-Israel and anti-U.S. Will President Bush launch a missile attack on Iran before his presidency ends? Should he?

Maine’s bottle bill – where did your nickel go?

Maine’s first in the nation bottle redemption law requires those buying soda and beer – and later liquor, wine, water and juice – to pay a deposit on the container at the point of purchase. The law is 30 years old this summer, and a state lawmaker wants to tweak it so that the estimated $1.2 million in annual deposits that is not redeemed goes to consumers, not distributors. Should the law be changed? And in general, what do you think about the law? Beverage distributors say their products make up just 5 percent of the waste stream, so they argue they are being unfairly targeted. Yet environmentalists note the law virtually ended road side littering.

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