We'll Take Any Positive Sign We Can Find

Leon Hadar reacts to the Israeli elections. Here's one upbeat argument:

All of Israel's PMs were part of the country's national security establishment. They were either ex-military generals, like Rabin or Barak, or were involved in one way or another in defense issues, like Peres, Begin or Meir. Olmert is the first "civilian," a lawyer-businessman by profession, to become a PM. This I think is going to have a major impact on the way Israel's national security/foreign policy is going to be managed. In a way, this will be the first Israeli PM whose view of the Arabs hasn't been shaped by looking through the barrel of gun.