Why hasn't Barack Obama closed the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay?

[BlueCaliDem]

58. Could'a, would'a, should'a

but the reality is, it comes down to this:

If a veto-proof bill, that is, the vast majority of Congress is for or against something and they pass their will over to you to sign into law as they watch, the president, who is dependent on Congress to get anything done in terms of domestic policy, won't forge any allies in Congress if he pocket-vetoes their will because they'll return the favor and do their own version of pocket-vetoing on you and then you'll become a lame-duck president, just like the GOP was hoping for.

Remember, Obama is a constitutional professor, and remember, in the beginning he wasn't exactly liked or accepted by members of his own party. But he understands the gov't "of, by, and for the people", and that government is Congress, and without Congress, he'd get nothing through. Also, and we shouldn't forget this, all polls showed the majority of Americans were against closing Gitmo and bringing detainees into the U.S. for prosecution. You and I appear to be in the minority on that.

But you and I part ways in this: in a perfect world where there aren't any egos involved and there is a Congress of congressmen/women who actually care about this country, your opinion on how it could've gone is technically right. But you don't take into account the political realities this president had to face, and mega-egos polluting Congress.

It's about forging allies in Congress so your other policies have a chance to get through, and no one doubts Obama has done a helluva lot. That's why historians are already labeling him the most progressive president since LBJ. His strategy worked. Perfect? No. But he never promised perfect. He promised hope and he promised change, and he delivered on both, hence his astronomical approval numbers in the latest CNN poll.