Once Again, Our Lyin' Eyes

I spent a little bit of time this morning watching and listening to the hearing on Obamacare. Along with this I have listened to news where actual users of health insurance told their stories. There is a divide. There is a huge divide. Listening to Kathleen Sibelius and, the ever unctuous, Henry Waxman one would be lead to believe that Obamacare is mere seconds away from perfection and at that point everyone in America will have Edenic, Utopian, inexpensive, cradle to grave health care where so little as a hangnail will get immediate treatment by superbly trained specialists.

Get over it folks. At best, everything the administration has claimed for this very faulty product is exaggerated. At worst it is a stack of lies. Having lived a long and fruitful life, I tend to believe the lies theory.  It is now reported that NBC reporter, Lisa Myers, has found regulation documents going back to 2010 that state that forty to sixty-seven percent of the population would lose their health care. So at least since 2010 on, the phrase, "If you like your policy, you can keep your policy", has been an out and out lie.

Also this morning, Ms Sibelius threw herself under the bus. She took full responsibility for any and all problems. But she assured the American public that she is working night and day to fix those problems. First I have to wonder how President Obama generates this kind of suicidal loyalty in some people. When ever there is a crisis, which is often, someone goes off the cliff, often voluntarily, but Obama walks away smiling. But the point is, Ms. Sibelius is a career politician. I doubt that she has the skill set or the temperament to dig in to a complex situation involving multiple companies, multiple apps, and a total system integration with a software hub and resolve the problems. If the problems are bad enough, every line of program and every piece of documentation will have to be reexamined. That is no small job, and certainly, no job for amateurs.

So once again, the people of America are stuck with an ugly, expensive, and complex problem handed to them by their elected representatives that we have foolishly trusted to care for our country. But, as much as I blame the politicians, I blame the press even more. It is their mandate to watch the politicians and report to us. They have failed in recent years because they pick sides. They pick not based on who will serve us best, but by who is coolest, who is glibbest, who is most charming. These are poor parameters on which to choose a leader. Maybe from here on we should start believing our lyin' eyes.