Two articles on the Palestinian elections
When People Freely Choose Tyranny, It’s still a loser

But the desire for freedom, as the fear of freedom, is universal, and most human beings will fight for freedom when the time is right.

And that's the nub of the question, I think. The time is not always right, and history is full of examples of romantic democrats losing everything by fighting desperately when they had no real chance of success. But today the time is right. Ours is a moment characterized by radical change, when tyrants feel threatened, when freedom is advancing, and revolution is the defining characteristic of international affairs. John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Lech Walesa, and the others all understood that, which is why Reagan was able to announce that the evil empire's days were numbered, and why John Paul told his followers "be not afraid."

Why Hamas Leaves Me Neutral

The strong Hamas victory, wrote Steven Plaut of Haifa University, is "the only thing that stands a chance of forcing Israelis to open their eyes and wake up." Its ascent might conceivably wake others up, too; will Spain's blinkered government note the recent call by a Hamas children's publication for the city of Seville to be returned to Muslim rule?

Possibly. But I hold out meager hope that Hamas in power will provide a reality check. The "peace process" community will not give up its cherished negotiations just because a murderous totalitarian organization has been elected. As has inexorably been the case since 1993, it will ignore this setback and press ahead for more Israeli concessions.

Neo-neocon asks Why is this man the senior foreign correspondent at a major newspaper[*]? when he sees the recent Hamas victory as a chance for Europe to try its more nuanced approach to the Middle East conflict. I'm sure even more Israeli concessions will be part of the nuance.

Update The Daily Ablution has more on [*] The Guardian's Terror Apologia of the Month