Reporting from Jerusalem -- A week ago Ehud Barak was trailing so badly in Israel's election campaign that he appeared, awkwardly, on a satirical television show to tout his leadership skills.
The next day, a massive Israeli air assault on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip thrust him center stage in a deadly serious role. It was Barak -- defense minister, decorated war hero, military strategist par excellence -- who planned the operation.
And politically it is Barak, a former prime minister running for his old job, who has the most to gain or lose in the ongoing military offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
If Hamas is battered enough that Israeli border towns are spared its rocket fire, voters are likely to view the 66-year-old Barak as the kind of leader Israel needs. If the operation fails or ignites a regional war, his political fortunes will fade.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-barak2-2009jan02,0,7164231.story
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