Consider that Ezra Klein is very sympathetic not only to the law, but to the administrations handling of most of its creation. But what he says here is really indicting: the problems are much bigger than we thought, could take a while to fix, and someone should get fired for this.
But here's the key excerpt that caught my attention:
This isn't about politics. A lot of liberals will be angry over this post. A lot of conservatives will be happy about it. But it's important to see the Affordable Care Act as something more than a pawn in the political wars: It's a real law that real people are desperately, nervously, urgently trying to access. And so far, the Obama administration has failed them.
The Obama administration's top job isn't beating the Republicans. It's running the government well. On this -- the most important initiative they've launched -- they've run the government badly. They deserve all the criticism they're getting and more.
I COMPLETELY agree with Ezra here. As someone who has been trying to access the site a billion times, to call it a disaster and failure doesnt do it justice. The administration knew they had an opposition party that would smell blood on even the smallest glitches, let alone a meltdown and yet some of the functions and communications with insurance companies weren't even Beta-tested, which is a level of carelessness and irresponsibility beyond comprehension.
All these blue states across the country are going gangbusters with their own exchanges, from NY to Cali to Washington and so on. So this isn't about the law, single-payer, or any other thing. This is about simple EXECUTION and running a government that can deliver the goods it promises.
They failed their supporters, but also congressional Democrats, who stuck their necks out only to have the administration completely bungle the mechanical stuff.
UPDATE: Here's the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/...