It drives me mad that it took this long.

The OP said that Condi-Gates adopted "Obama's" plan, but having diplomatic relations with every country should be the norm. Should be common sense. I don't see it as a left/right issue.

I'm glad that the White House is doing it, but like other moves they've had to make, it's like they need to be pinned into a corner and even then they don't come around until things are nearly falling apart.

Maybe Bush learned the word "legacy" in his remedial english class recently?