OUCH:"“If I had known” Mr. Obama said, according to the aide, “we could have delayed the website.” "

[kpete]

“If I had known,” Mr. Obama said, according to the aide, “we could have delayed the website.”

Mr. Obama’s anger, described by a White House that has repeatedly sought to show that the president was unaware of the extent of the website’s problems, has lit a fire under the West Wing staff. Senior aides are racing to make sure the website is fixed by the end of the month as they confront the political fallout from presidential promises, now broken, that all Americans who liked their existing health care plans could keep them.

Inside the White House, there is anxiety that if the health care problems are not righted, they could imperil the rest of Mr. Obama’s presidency, especially as criticism grows that the president misled consumers about the plan. Mr. Obama sought to tamp down that criticism by apologizing in an interview with NBC News on Thursday. “I am sorry that they, you know, are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they got from me,” the president said.


MORE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/09/us/politics/a-white-house-in-crisis-mode-but-some-allies-prod-for-more.html?hp

[leftstreet]

1. Hope this isn't true. What else doesn't he know?

Ugh

[Xipe Totec]

2. The fact is that delaying the web site would be seen as caving to the shutdown

He was between a rock and an elephant.

[Tx4obama]

8. The shutdown wasn't about the 'website' it was about the 'mandate'

Folks still could have signed up via mail, by phone, and in person - if the website launch had been delayed.

So, that would not have been good enough for the republicans.

[Xipe Totec]

14. Once they were cornered, delaying implementation is exactly what the repugs asked for

Sept. 29: GOP-led House changes its demands from defunding Obamacare to delaying the implementation of the law for one year and repealing its tax on medical devices.

Sept. 30: The Democratic-led Senate rejects that reworked House proposal. Bill returns to the House, who once again rework their demands. This time, instead of the Sept. 29th provisions, the House GOP asks that the president delay for one year Obamacare’s “individual mandate” to buy health insurance; and that the president require Congress and its staff to pay unsubsidized health insurance costs. The Senate rejects those provisions, and so…

Oct. 1: Commence (partial) government shutdown. 800,000 federal workers furloughed.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/a-brief-history-of-the-2013-government-shutdown/


Other parts of the law, such as the employer mandate, a major provision of the law that requires companies with over 50 full-time employees to provide health insurance or pay a penalty, for one year was already delayed.

Delaying the launch of the website would be perceived as delaying the implementation of the law and you can bet the pugs would have jumped on that with both feet and used it to "prove" that they forced the President to cave.

[Tx4obama]

15. But GOP wanted ' delaying implementation' - that is different than delaying the website

Delaying the website would not delay the law - folks would just be forced to sign up by mail, phone, or in person.

But of course the GOP would 'spin' it as they got 'their way' but in reality they wouldn't have.

[Xipe Totec]

17. Exactly. It was about the spin

This had to be perceived by the public as a complete and utter defeat for the GOP. The President had to show absolute and unquestionable determination to hold the line. There had to be absolutely no way to link the delay of the website to the government shutdown. Otherwise, the GOP would argue that the shutdown achieved some results. and then, they would do it again.

[B2G]

18. And if we delay the mandate now,

They will say the shutdown needn't have ever happened.

[Wait Wut]

3. Who is 'Mr. Obama'?

I'll call b.s. based on that, alone.

[cthulu2016]

11. It is his name. Deal with it.

It is normal journalistic practice to name someone by their job-title in the first appearance of their name, and "Mr." thenceforth.

The OP is an excerpt.

WASHINGTON — President Obama was seething. Two weeks after the disastrous launch of HealthCare.gov, Mr. Obama gathered his senior staff members in the Oval Office for what one aide recalled as an “unsparing” dressing-down.

[kiva]

12. If you look at the article,

the first two words are "President Obama" and there are several references to 'the president' throughout the article...but don't let that get in the way of trashing an article you haven't read.

[Politicalboi]

4. Where was this anger in 2003?

Lied to so we could go to war, no mushroom clouds, and no mission accomplished. Americans are so stupid. If you can't keep the insurance you have, you just might qualify for medicaid. The WH is making too much of this. Fuck the GOP.

[spanone]

5. ^^^+1,000,000^^^

[VanillaRhapsody]

6. The govt typically has Hard deadlines....unlike private industry...who can move goal posts

but can you imagine the criticism if he had of pushed it back?

[Tx4obama]

7. But not the 'law'. Folks still could have signed up via mail, by phone, and in person.

[cthulu2016]

9. Will Obama's concern trolling never cease?

[deutsey]

10. I have experience with gov't/contractor web projects

Unfortunately, none of what has happened here is surprising.

It's quite typical, actual.

[B2G]

13. This is not going to be fixed in 2 weeks

It likely won't be functioning very well in 2 months.

They should pull the plug and devise a backup plan. Trying to fix a system this broken that's still open to end users is like trying to nail jello on a wall...frustrating for everyone.

The real issue is what to do for the folks whose policies have already been cancelled but can't enroll. I hope that's issue number one they're trying to figure out.

[Mass]

16. The Definitive Guide To Decoding Washington's Anonymous Sources

Before posting these types of things, read this.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/29/anonymous-sources-guide-washington_n_4175565.html

Source/person/aide/official familiar with the situation: This is a source, most likely a spokesperson, who has been briefed about something, but was not personally present for the meeting. It's a way of confirming information without attaching a particular office to it. But think about all the “situations” with which you are “familiar” -- would you put a lot of stock in what you have to say about those situations? If you just answered “yes,” you have probably appeared in multiple political stories lately

I have no doubt that the White House and the president are frustrated by this mess, but somebody defined as "the aide" is most likely just somebody dropping a quote to please a reporter.

Frankly so many stupid things in this article like this.

“People expect us to fix the damn website,” a senior White House adviser said. “But they want us to move on, and stay focused on improving the economy.”

I would hope that the White House can do more than one thing at the same time.