According to a (pay walled) report in the London Sunday Times by Toby Harden,

Hostage rescue raid came too late: The president waited nearly a month before giving the go-ahead for a daring bid to free western hostages including James Foley

Writing for Breitbart, Dan Riehl gives us the gist:

It's claimed that Obama was concerned about his administration being Carterized had the mission failed. 

For President Barack Obama the decision to send in the Night Stalkers was an agonising one. The audacious bin Laden raid in Pakistan had been a success but also preying on his mind was the failed 1980 Delta Force operation to rescue American hostages in Tehran. Sandstorms and mechanical troubles led the mission to be abandoned and eight American troops were killed when two aircraft collided. The debacle cast a shadow over Jimmy Carter’s presidency. (snip)

Anthony Shaffer, a former lieutenant-colonel in US military intelligence who worked on covert operations, said: “I’m told it was almost a 30-day delay from when they said they wanted to go to when he finally gave the green light. They were ready to go in June to grab the guy [Foley] and they weren’t permitted.”

Making the hard choices is part of the job, and is the reason why a president enjoys Air Force One, the private chefs, the spectacular party venue and all the other perks Obama revels in.

One thing we know by now is that President Obama is loath to make tough choices, and often dithers. He is the opposite of a true leader.