Who are You Calling a 'Hard-Liner,' AP?

Four words that you will never see the AP use in connection with Barack Obama or anyone on the left, have been deployed to describe the elections that just finished up in Israel.

Exit polls show that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and his hard-line allies have won a narrow majority in parliamentary elections.

See that? Let’s see it again. You won’t see it used in the American context, er, except to describe Republicans.

In an election on Tuesday far closer than polls forecast, Netanyahu’s Likud Party captured just 31 seats, well below expectations. But with his hard-line and religious allies, he would still be able to form a narrow majority in the 120-seat parliament, according to the exit polls.

What are you trying to say, AP? They seem to be trying not to say that Israel has shifted to the right, decisively.