HIGH-SPEED CHASES

Yesterday's early-morning chase in Petersburg took two young lives and nearly took a third. Over what? A fender-bender at a 7-Eleven. As this space has noted before -- see the June 14 editorial, "Speed Kills" -- high-speed police pursuits rarely are justified.

 

RIDE SHARING

Is the price of gasoline not only slamming your wallet but getting you down? Maybe it would be a good idea to split the bill. Sharing rides allows commuters and travelers to share costs.

 

RELIGION AND POLITICS

Stephen Mansfield has written a remarkable book. The Faith of Barack Obama rates as required reading for Americans of voting age. Although the official publication date is next month, last weekend we picked up a copy at a local store.

 

REST IN PEACE

GERALD P. MCCARTHY

Virginia is a better place because Joe Gartlan chose to spend his life in service to the commonwealth. It truly can be said of Joe that he left the world better than he found it, and in the process set a high standard for those who follow. When Joe joined the Senate in 1972, it was still dominated by traditional Democratic conservatives. To say that he did not fit the mold of the place would be to miss the point; in the following years he mastered its intricacies, made friends across the dividing lines, and helped to transform an institution known as the burying ground for legislation into a place where legislative accomplishments accumulated.

 

A RESPONSE

JOHN MCCAIN

<li>Editor's note: This is the column John McCain submitted to The New York Times that The Times declined to run without changes. The Times did not commission the piece. Newspapers are under no obligation to publish unsolicited manuscripts. However, The Times previously had featured a column by Barack Obama, which prompted the McCain response. When the