Ahem ... How's that November 30th Deadline Working Out? Or, Jay Carney's Answer to the Inevitable Question: "I Shave."

One of the worst actions that an Administration can take is to repeatedly mislead the American public.  Such an action is compounded when the misleading actions are not separated by years but, in this case, by a mere month.

Yet, such is what we are now facing.

Press Spokesman Carney:  "I shave"

As the Obamacare website healthcare.gov was cratering in late October, the President himself assured us that the website would be fully operational by November 30.  This was an important deadline because citizens are required to sign up on the exchange by December 31st this year, and one month was considered the minimum amount of time necessary to sign up those millions of Americans needing individual policies -- nay, required by law to have individual policies. And the term "fully operational" is a strong expectation. 

This blog, as well as many others, predicted that the website would not be fixed by November 30th.  Some of the predictions were based on inside knowledge, and some (including my prediction) were based on years of experience in the federal IT industry and an understanding of how IT programs are developed, tested, implemented, and fixed over time.

The Administration is already lowering expectations.  Today, Thanksgiving Day, can we really be thankful that the prevarications are continuing?   That deputy White House pressmen and junior CMS staff (not Jay Carney, Kathleen Sebelius, or the President himself) are finessing the message while not owning up to the facts, and the truth?  Today's message is that healthcare.gov will work "better" than last month. By whose definition?  The payment system is months from completion and the security flaws are still pervasive and threatening.

Back when I was a young pup, I remember the Nixon Administration during 1973 when the Watergate scandal was unfolding.  The President's press spokesman, Ron Ziegler, was constantly having to stand before the media, with a straight face, and pretend that all was, well, hunky-dory.  One of the commentators of the time, Gary Trudeau, published a fictitious comic at the time showing a fictitious question from the press gallery, along with the fictitious answer from Ziegler:

Question:  "Ron, sometimes I imagine you must get up in the morning, look in the mirror before you've shaven, and think to yourself, 'Ron, you're about to begin another day of evasion and deceit.' Here's my question, Ron: What do you do after you've come to such a realization?"

Answer:  "I shave." 

My message to Carney, Obama, Sebelius and the others.  Keep shaving, even while you realize that we're on to you.