Better than Nothing?

This morning Peter Baker has a story, "In Terror Shift, Obama Took a Long Path," that's worth reading. Obama's speech last week, where he claims to be ratcheting down the Global War on Terror, perfectly captures his presidency. He can articulate a problem but does nothing to actually solve it:

Mr. Obama’s eventual speech, at 59 minutes one of the longest of his presidency other than a State of the Union address, reflected the process that developed it. Even as he set new standards, a debate broke out about what they actually meant and what would actually change. For now, officials said, “signature strikes” targeting groups of unidentified armed men presumed to be extremists will continue in the Pakistani tribal areas.

Even as he talked about transparency, he never uttered the word “C.I.A.” or acknowledged he was redefining its role. He made no mention that a drone strike had killed an American teenager in error. While he pledged again to close the Guantánamo prison, he offered little reason to think he might be more successful this time.

The refrain heard from liberals is that it's better than nothing. And in the end this is the best that we have come to expect from politicians purportedly representing the progressive majority in this country. "Better than nothing."