Nader should be praised.

• Author: Silver, Irving
• Position: Letters to the Editor

Matthew Rothschild's review of James Weinstein's book is titled "An Unheroic Left" (October issue), which is an unfortunate choice. I read The Long Detour, and while it contains valid criticisms of past actions, its emphasis is negative and unbalanced.

What is particularly galling is Weinstein's Nader-bashing. Ralph Nader should be praised for, at the very least, getting many young people involved in the political process. How does one make peace with a Democratic Party that for eight years under Clinton gave us welfare reform and NAFTA? These two...