Palestinian Election. Help Me Understand!

OK. The Palestinians had a legitimate election in which the militant group Hamas won the majority of seats. (Probably old news for most of you). This was a democratic election monitored by groups to make sure it was legit. Even Jimmy Carter was one of the officials monitoring the election. But the US, which formally views Hamas as terrorists (and they sure are), is refusing to recongnize Hamas until they renounce their wicked ways. Condy Rice said last week of Hamas, "You can't have one foot in politics, and the other in terror." Funny, I thought politics and terror, especially in the current US administration, went hand in hand. So, I am confused. Doesn't the US preach Democracy and the will of the people? Isn't that what Iraq is all about? In Palestine, the people voted, and chose the party they wanted in power, correct? There was no fraud. There was no ballot stuffing by Hamas. It was a legitimate show of the people of Palestine as to what kind of leadership they want. It may not be what the US or Israel want, but it is apparently what the Palestinians want. I guess the US can decide with whom it does business. And if the official position of the US, rightly or wrongly, is that we do not do business with Hamas as it currently exists, is this the explanation. Whether the US wants to recongnize the Palestinian government or not, it exists! It will be very interesting to see how the US reacts. I can only imagine what the US response would have been if the Iraqi election didn't turn out the way it was supposed to.