In the District, a good idea often is abused: Bullied by so-called “stakeholders;” studied, probed and challenged in multiple public hearings, where politics and territorial prerogatives rule. Implementation invariably is delayed.

Last year, the Brookings Institution and D.C. Appleseed prepared a study proposing a community college; the two groups held a symposium; a feasibility analysis was released; D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray convened a roundtable; by meeting’s end, another plan — a “strategic plan” — was proposed.