My position on Hamas is indistinguishable from the position of Hillary Clinton or John McCain. I said they are a terrorist organization and I’ve repeatedly condemned them. I’ve repeatedly said, and I mean what I say: since they are a terrorist organization, we should not be dealing with them until they recognize Israel, renounce terrorism, and abide by previous agreements.

In the six years since Obama made that statement, Hamas hasn't changed its positions — it refuses to renounce terrorism or its charter calling for the destruction of Israel. Nonetheless, Obama has changed his position on Hamas by deciding to deal with them after all.

On Monday, Palestinians announced the formation of a "unity" government that includes Hamas, which is on the U.S. State Department list of designated terrorist groups. Instead of scolding Palestinians for the deal, which would put another fork in the corpse of the peace process, the State Department said it expected to work with the government.