The presidency is not a professorship, Obama

Brilliant, if you were scribbling exam answers in a blue book. Less impressive five years into a presidency. It seems a little late in the day for the president to talk about looking forward “to actively engaging Congress to explore these and other options for increased oversight.”

The law student gets points for identifying the issue. The president only succeeds by proposing — and implementing — a solution.

Same with Guantanamo. The president is certainly correct that congressional restrictions on transferring detainees to prisons in the United States “make no sense” and that the continuing operation of the detention facility costs the United States too much in reputation and treasure.

But, again, five years into being commander in chief, Obama gets little credit for announcing that he is appointing “a new senior envoy” to oversee the transfer of detainees — not when he allowed the previous position to lapse. He gets little credit for lifting a moratorium on detainee transfers to Yemen that he himself put in place.