Too Soon Old and Too Late Smart about GITMO

"Too soon old and too late smart" is an old German proverb that was brought to America by the Amish. A variation is "With age comes wisdom."
I raise these axioms because they fit President Obama to a tee. He pranced into office in 2008 announcing that Guantanamo was going to be shut and all those held there would be tried in mainland US federal courts.
It wasn't a popular move back in 2008 and it cost the new President popularity points as the first GITMO detainee was tried in a US federal court and convicted of almost nothing.
That led to a widespread public debate, with lawyers, politicians and citizens taking forceful positions, most of which did not agree with Obama's original premise that Guantanamo should be shut down.
The President's next step was to try to find countries that would take the detainees if they were released. That idea was a complete failure. To date, I think only Saudi Arabia and Switzerland have stepped up to the plate. The detainees who went back to Saudi Arabia soon became terrorists once more. The Swiss are spending a lot of money trying to integrate two brothers into Swiss society, and it seems so far to be working, with no perceived terrorist leanings.
Surprise...in the last few days President Obama has done a flip-flop and now has ordered detainee trials in GITMO under military court procedures to re-start. That puts an end to yet another of Obama's ill-thought-out campaign promises.
As the President continues stepping back from his campaign promises, he is certainly showing signs of wisdom, but will they be too little and too late to save his desire for a second term? It seems likely if only the GOP can find a candidate.