Tel Aviv - Israel Labour Party leader Ehud Barak is the most decorated soldier in Israel's history, but doesn't look the part.
He is pudgy, speaks with a slight lisp, appears stiff and ill-at- ease when facing the television cameras, is regarded as smug, aloof and even - say his many critics - arrogant.
Faced with this perception of their candidate, Barak's advisors have tried to turn his perceived disadvantages into campaign strengths.