A recent op-ed at the Wall Street Journal claims that President Obama’s words and action on student loan rates is little more than political theater.

Obama’s Student-Loan Props

President Obama’s 2014 budget calls on Congress to prevent a doubling of interest rates on student loans and make the rates “more market-based.” Last week House Republicans and four Democrats voted to prevent the rates from doubling and make the rates more market-based.

Naturally, Mr. Obama is sitting down with the leaders of both parties in a good-faith effort to iron out their remaining differences before the July 1 rate increase. Just kidding.

After hurling a veto threat at the House, Mr. Obama is hosting a White House media event Friday morning. As his spokesman Jay Carney described it, “the President will be joined by college students here at the White House for an event where he will call on Congress to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1.” Does Mr. Obama realize he can’t run for re-election again?

House Education Chairman John Kline’s bill sets floating rates on new Stafford loans at the 10-year Treasury rate plus 2.5%, while also protecting borrowers by capping the rates at 8.5%. Under this plan, a borrower can consolidate his loans after graduation to achieve a fixed rate.

Mr. Obama’s plan is purely for fixed, not floating, rates at the 10-year Treasury rate plus 0.93% or 2.93% depending on the type of Stafford loan, and it has no rate cap. We wish both the House and Mr. Obama would drive a harder bargain on behalf of the taxpayer, but they aren’t separated by a difference of philosophy. A spread of 93 or 293 basis points means the President cares about young people, but 250 basis points signifies unspeakable cruelty?