For years now, Guantanamo Bay has served as shorthand for US abuse of human rights in the name of security. The prisoners held there, often for reasons debatable, have been subject to treatment that America routinely condemns in other countries.

Upon his inauguration, one of President Obama’s first announcements concerned his plan to close the prison by the end of 2009. His supporters hailed the move as a first step towards getting the US back in the good graces of the rest of the world. As we now know, however, such goals were more than a bit unrealistic – the president admitted today that we would not, in fact, be able to shut down Guantanamo by January 1. His failure, however, says as much about our faith in the president – and his tendencies to buy into that faith, regardless of what circumstance suggests – as it does about the prison itself.

There are innumerable, very complex obstacles slowing progress towards Guantanamo’s closure, not least of which is what to do with the prisoners within its walls – some of whom may be innocent, but at least one hundred of whom are billed as “too dangerous to release.” Given that these are terror suspects, a definite sense of NIMBY has prevailed, understandably, among American civilians.

Then there are the delicate logistics of releasing suspects whom the US has determined to be innocuous, but who run the risk of being persecuted if they return to their home countries – the Uighurs of China being the most obvious example. For such inmates, a third place needs to be found, which is how the island nation of Palau found itself home to an unlikely Uighur diaspora. Finally, there are opponents to the prison’s closure – on both sides of the Congressional aisle – who have made it difficult for the president to find places to send the remaining combatants.

Does all of this mean that Obama has failed and that Guantanamo will continue to live out its time as an island dystopia? Not at all. But it also means that Obama sincerely thought he could relocate two hundred men, close a federal facility, navigate the tricky internal politics of other countries and convert enough politicians to his side in a year to make the entire endeavor worthwhile. Even a cursory overview of the facts in the case reveals that worldview to be naïve at best. To put it in perspective, it has taken longer than a year to negotiate zoning for the grocery store across the street from my house. As convenient as it would be to close the prison with a writ, Obama seems to find the situation far more complex than imagined.

And yet, when the president made his initial announcement, few questions were raised as to its viability. And why not? Here was a man who was single-handedly bringing back the concept of hope. He had already made it clear that a black man could enter the White House and be dashing and charming while he did it. When he promised it, millions of people believed he could do anything.

Eleven months in, those dreams haven’t quite materialized. No one is saying that the president has dropped the ball entirely, but many of his goals have yet to be realized. His health care plan lacks support. Racial tensions in America persist. Despite the appearance of an initially overwhelming popular mandate, life for Obama since the election, as Langston Hughes once wrote, “Ain’t been no crystal stair.”

Guantanamo is just another example of unrealistic goals being levied onto a president who, overall, has good intentions. And we, as a country, might face less disappointment if we stopped convincing Obama that that is who he is.

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