I disagree agree with many of Obama's policies, but I think this response is overly cynical (especially the intimation that he might be disingenuous). Even absent any authority at all to act on a particular issue, it can still be productive for the President to draw attention to it by using his "bully pulpit." In this case, I had no idea that solitary confinement was overused in this way, and the principles he outlined seemed very sensible to me. Now, it is at least more likely that fellow politicians will follow his lead on this issue.