Barack Obama declined today to comment on Jimmy Carter’s upcoming love-in with Khaled Meshal in Damascus, and in doing so reiterated his view that Hamas

is not a state and until Hamas clearly recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism and abides by, or believes that the Palestinians should abide by previous agreements … I don’t think conversations with them would be fruitful.

The fact that Hamas is not technically a state — although it is the de facto government of the Gaza Strip — is an incredibly thin reed on which to hang his position. Obama proudly declares his desire to meet with Iranian leaders, who, just like Meshal, do not recognize Israel, revel in terrorism, and do not believe that Palestinians should abide by previous agreements. Ahmadinejad signs Meshal’s paychecks, and as far as the broad strokes of terrorism, Israel, and Iran’s ambitions in the Middle East are concerned, the two men are one and the same.

So why exactly does Obama think that discussions with Ahmadinejad “would be fruitful” when discussions with Meshal will not be? The two men are both heads of terror regimes, and both have the capacity to influence the level of violence in the region. In freezing out Hamas, Obama is betraying his own principles; today, when asked about Carter, he should have publicly lauded the man’s fidelity to Obama’s foreign policy.