He is not a conservative. I think the "hold people accountable" element is more generational. My dad's widow is a reliable Democratic voter yet posts on Facebook regarding student loan forgiveness "pay your debts"

He has leaned toward big finance, (the bankruptcy bill was a travesty), but he is a mainstream Democrat

Of course he had to be evasive as to student loan forgiveness during the campaign- the rightwingers would have made a twisted soundbyte over anyplan announced- delaying was strategic- and yes the middling road (not forgiving it all but forgiving some) is again political strategy to offer some relief without losing elections. Making the process too complicated would make it also a mess.