The US always demands free and democratic elections, however, when the people elect leaders the US disapproves of, the noises out of Washington changes fast.
Tha was certainly the case with Gaza.
Well, the U.S. supports free and fair elections, but doesn't guarantee they will like or support the people's choice in the end, nor should they have to. If a leader is elected the U.S. can't stand, then they have the right to issolate that country.
As regards the Obama is just a happy face, well a former U.S. Ambassador told me at a party once (long before Obama was ever heard of) that "the U.S. government is a gaint mass that moves forward. The system is set up so that no one man, whether he be president, governor, congressman, senator, general of bureaucrat can screw it up that much. There are two many safeguards and the mass just keeps moving along. People can influence direction a bit, and leave their mark on things, but in the end the mass will keep moving forward whether any one leader or representative is good or bad, smart or stupid, bright or a dimwit. That is the benefit of how the American system of government was set up by the founding fathers".