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Health Insurance Exchanges continue to be plagued with problems, President’s leadership qualities take decisive hit

Oct 11, 2013

By Dave Andrusko

Obamacare88As we approach the end of the week, let me offer a few further quotes about the rolling out of ObamaCare’s health insurance “exchanges” and the public’s opinion of President Obama’s leadership. (Hint: it is in near free-fall.)

First, for perspective, a quote from an article in today’s Weekly Standard written by Daniel Halper.

“Last night, the organization formerly known as President Obama’s reelection campaign, Organizing for Action, held an Obamacare event in Greenville, South Carolina. The event was called ‘Obamacare and You!’

“’Let’s discuss what this Affordable Care Act means for you and your community. This session will help you understand the benefits and will equip you to spread the word about the benefits of Obamacare in your community. Come out and get the facts!!,’ the event advertisement said.

“But it wasn’t widely attended. Only two people, in addition to the two organizers, showed up.

“Here’s a picture of the two participants.”

And then there is Kathleen Sebelius who went to Pittsburgh yesterday to promote the ObamaCare exchanges, accompanied by Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney. From the local paper:

“Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had a front-row view of the problems plaguing the website that the government established to allow people to shop for health insurance under Obamacare.

“Sebelius and Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney were at an enrollment and education event on Thursday at Heinz Field to promote Healthcare.gov, but people who showed up encountered problems in signing up for coverage on the website. …

“’Believe me, we had some early glitches,’ said Sebelius, who was introduced by Rooney, a backer of the law. ‘But it’s getting better every day.’

“At the back of the room, it was a different story. About 20 people armed with laptops and certified by the government to sign up people for coverage were meeting with uninsured people, answering questions and fruitlessly trying to access the website.

“LaKesha Lowry, 41, came to the event to find out about her health insurance options. But the North Side resident said she was not able to access the site, even with the help of a certified application counselor.

“It said, ‘Try again later,’ ” Lowry said.

The Associated Press ran a story today, the gist of which the popularity of both the Republican and Democratic parties is near-historic lows. The more interesting figures deal with President Obama.

His strong suit has always been his “likeability.” It’s down to 49%. And that’s the BEST result in response to a series of queries.

Respondents were asked how well each word described Mr. Obama. The options are either “very/somewhat well “or “slightly/not at all well.” The affirmative number comes first, then the negative:

Decisive—38% versus 55%

Strong—41% versus 54%

Honest– 44% versus 52%

Inspiring 42% versus 54%

Reasonable—43% versus 53%

One other thing, which I neglected to mention earlier this week when I wrote about the President’s popularity dropping to 37% (“Obama Approval drops to 37% as massive problems continue to plague health insurance exchanges,” http://nrlc.cc/1fpxUaO).

Newsbusters did a very nice compare and contrast piece. Whereas the networks couldn’t find enough explanations to minimize the significance of the plunge for President Obama (for example, “It appears to be an outlier”), when President Bush’s popularity dropped to a low of 37% on March 10, 2006, NBC’s Brian Williams led the newscast with it! “When an NBC News poll found the same number on March 15, Williams led the program with it again, turning to Tim Russert to say, ‘let’s start with that all-important benchmark for presidents, the approval rating.’”

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Categories: ObamaCare