Mr. Spitzer's tragic fall, more Dryden than Shakespeare, might have been as willingly, though less enthusiastically, constructed by those of us on the left who came to deplore his ruthless and incompetent pursuit of his and our goals. Certainly few heroes in our or any other time have strewn so many banana peels in their own paths or provided their enemies with such smooth missiles for their own stoning.

It may be as Mr. Cockburn says, and if so I will relish the evildoers' exposure. Today, I feel gratitude for the man who succeeds Mr. Spitzer. Mr. Paterson will do better at realizing a progressive agenda. If I were writing the story, I'd include a soliloquy in which Mr. Spitzer's dark night of the soul includes recognition of this, and a suggestion he might have unconsciously brought himself down to make room for the better man.

Barry Blitstein

New York City, NY