Thomas Eichler’s March 30 letter, “Think about who will staff the next administration,” reminds us of how important it is that a president employ good people. He is right that this qualification for the job has been largely overlooked by the news media. We want whoever wins in November to surround himself with people who are independent thinkers, give carefully reasoned advice, are committed to the mission of their departments, and run their departments competently and with respect for their employees and the work they do. Being president isn’t a solo performance.

It would be interesting if a journalist would do a person-by-person comparison between the Trump and the Biden Cabinet secretaries and other key administration figures. Can there be any doubt which administration would come out looking better?

Michael Bacon
Westbrook