I think he's trying to be boring intentionally.
if he went ot the iranian border and asked for sweeping changes, they'd keep smashing skulls in there, and people would say he is a loser, failure, etc.
This way he pacifies the Repubs whose only course of action is to 'condemn everything!' obama did that. But to stand up and shout, when it won't do any good... just burns his capital and gives the repubs another failure to list.
How can you stop a country who is smashing up protesters? it sucks, but you cna't stop them. mccain would be doing the same thing... condemning it, then nothing else.