Posted on 10/21/2013 1:10:27 PM PDT by Kaslin
Yes, really. As you read this morning, I was expecting a some perfunctory contrition and token acceptance of responsibility from President Bystander during his Obamacare remarks in the Rose Garden today. I was wrong. The appearance was more of a pep rally, replete with upbeat promises and applauding supporters. Aides might as well have hung a large "mission accomplished" banner over Obama's head. The fact that the Obamacare websites -- a core element of the law functioning -- are in total shambles and won't be fixed for many weeks or even months were all but shrugged off as an afterthought. Be sure to stick with this clip through the very end, when one of Obama's human props actually faints right behind him. There's a metaphor in there somewhere. In short, I thought I had gotten past being shocked by this president's arrogance and dishonesty. Wrong again. Truly surreal:
Woman Faints During Obama's Speech on Obamacare Website "Kinks"
Not to worry, Obama told consumers, the law is "working well," and in some cases, even better than expected. He spent much of the speech insisting that the product itself is just fantastic. Rates are lower. Costs are down. Coverage is better. The system is "smoother" than ever. He used isolated anecdotes to "prove" these points, ignoring buckets of empirical evidence to the contrary. For good measure, he also blamed Republicans and the recent government shutdown for some of the glitches -- totally false red herrings. He emphasized that if you're one of the few (!) people who've had trouble signing up online, you're free to simply dial a 1-800 number for assistance. Thus, the President of the United States was reduced to acting as a ShamWow pitch man. Except ShamWow's phone system, um, isn't broken:
RT @AnnieLowrey: For the record, just called 1-800-318-2596, got a busy signal. — Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) October 21, 2013
And then, the dark punchline:
Can't make this up. Got through 800-number, followed prompts, and got referred to http://t.co/42WSNzdKsg. — Philip Klein (@philipaklein) October 21, 2013
Twitter was abuzz throughout the speech, with observers on the Right and Left unified in their astonishment at the tone and tenor of Obama's comments. A handful of relevant, memorable and insightful offerings:
Two things POTUS just said: 20 million visits to the #Obamacare website; "thousands" signed up. — Stew (@StewSays) October 21, 2013
Hard to claim that web traffic is evidence of huge demand when gov't MANDATES compliance by purchasing thru ACA system. — Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) October 21, 2013
This speech would work if Obamacare really was just a bit glitchy. But it's not. Signing up, for most people, is basically impossible. — Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) October 21, 2013
So little to no detail on A) What's wrong with site. B) What's being done to fix. C) Timetable to fix. Hoping to get more answers later. — Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) October 21, 2013
Jake Tapper: "but he [Obama] doesn't talk about the individuals who are going to have to pay more for health insurance." — Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) October 21, 2013
By mail. RT @MZHemingway: @ByronYork notes one of Obama's "success" stories today = dude waiting to hear what his options might be under ACA — David Freddoso (@freddoso) October 21, 2013
CBS' John Dickerson: Obama Headed Toward 'Credibility Death Spiral' Over Obamacare
National Journal's Ron Fournier notes that building a website and getting (read: forcing) people to sign up should have been the easy part. Fournier writes that Obama should be "freaked out" by his law's failures because they reflect poorly on him, cast a dark shadow on government in general, and threaten to harm millions of Americans. Today's rah-rah, brave-face spectacle represents a breathtaking double-down by the president. "Things are generally going really well, and any small inconveniences will be ironed out soon" was the basic message of his speech. Techies and insurance industry experts, however, are in a state of panic; wonky centrists and even some liberals have already floated the possibility of a long delay of the law. President Obama is either living in fantasy world, or he made a conscious decision to grossly mislead the American public about his signature law. Again. Door number two sounds about right. What we're left with is a president being sucked into a credibility death spiral over a law that is on an alarming path toward a health insurance death spiral. I'll leave you with Morning Joe's MSNBC panel slamming the law, calling its implementation "outrageous," and accusing the administration of "outright lying about what's going on." Also, the lack of adequate testing was "almost criminal." I repeat, all these assessments came prior to Obama's comments today:
The Obamacare exchanges' so-called "front end" issues are just the tip of the iceberg. These problems were needlessly created by the administration because they were afraid of allowing people to browse pre-subsidized coverage rates, which would lead to widespread sticker shock. The deeper malfunctions have infected the guts of the system, such that even "enrolled" people may not actually be signed up for the coverage they think they have. And we have no idea when those flaws will be resolved.
Subject: Townhall PM - Delusional Obama Claims Healthcare Law "Working Well" - October 21, 2013
In other news, the chocolate ration has been increased from 30 to 25 grams a week.
When your only goal is to overwhelm the system, the worse you do things, the better.
Good title. I couldnt miss it and thats exactly the way he sounded.
Sign up fast before all the good insurance policies are sold, then again he said the opposite too, that many people must sign up to make it work.
Best to wait. The numbers are low enought he might delay the mandate...might
Well, unless it was run by Jon Corzine.
Did Putin really say that? If so, good for him!
“Victory Lap Over Huge Obamacare Success”
Herr Goebbles would be proud, very proud indeed.
IMHO
Every time I am tempted to enjoy 0bama’s obvious failure in 0bamacare, I stop to think of the millions of real Americans who are being severely harmed by this horrible law and then I become very sad.
One man’s ego and hubris creating millions of people harmed by collateral damage. Sad days in America.
Truth is what the media tells the masses, and they claim it is a triumph of Obama and the People’s Party.
I actually watched that speech today and quite frankly I could barely believe it. This piece sums it up very well. It only leaves out his usual condescending tone as he recounted the many benefits that “you may already” have as a result of this law, even if “you haven’t noticed them”. (Not direct quotes, but pretty close.)
He’s unbearable and I can’t imagine how much worse he’ll get if this albatross turns him into a complete lame duck. (See pigeon comment in below thread - the guy is a real bird brain!)
I don’t think the quote is original to him, but as you say...
reads like satire
Obama is a satire of a real President
Millions of conservatives consented to Obama’s presidency when they abstained from voting in 2008 and 2012. They wanted to punish the Republican Party by empowering the most radical of socialist candidates. It was all due to a pig headed hissy fit because the GOP candidates were not pure enough.
Many here like to post that they did not vote Republican. They are the ones who consented to change.
Right, its like if Ayn Rand had written a comedy
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