Hamas' Rise to Power

John Derbyshire gets right to the point regarding the Hamas Elections:

When some nutso extremist group actually attains power with wide popular support (even if not precisely by democtatic means), two forces get to work. One force is the force of moderation acting *from* the populace *on* the group; the other is the force of extremism acting *from* the group *on* the institutions of govt. The first might win (think Menachem Begin, Gerry Adams) or the second might (think Hitler, Khomeini).

As always, great insight over at The Corner.