Obama says he's sorry Americans losing insurance

[woo me with science]

10. Very interesting.

In a Wonkblog post, Klein and Evan Soltas wrote, “The problem here isn’t just technological. It’s managerial. The White House’s senior staff—up to and including the president—was blindsided. Staffers deep in the process knew that HealthCare.gov wasn’t ready for primetime. But those frustrations were hidden from top-level managers. Somewhere along the chain the information was spun, softened, or just plain buried.” In another post, they wrote, “staff was terrified to speak on the record, or even on background. ...”

Was the leaker-hunting state of mind in the Obama administration, reaching from the president to deep into the bureaucracy, responsible for the failure of workers to tell their bosses the system wasn’t ready for introduction?
....There are many reasons for the Affordable Care Act’s poor performance on opening day. Technical and managerial failures were responsible, as was heavy pressure from the White House to begin enrollments Oct. 1.

But fear of delivering bad news, of being perceived as a dissenter, a poor team player, an arguer—all admirable qualities in a creative organization—could well share the blame. Who wants to bring bad news to the White House?

It would be ironic if the introduction of President Obama’s proudest achievement has been tainted by his obsession with rooting out leakers.