"Obama understandably came into office with a sense of immunity. His personal story and nontraditional background made him an emblematic figure. An enthralled media had unfortunately redefined its role as an appendage to, rather than an auditor of, the presidency. After the unpopular Bush administration, even Obama’s empty 'hope and change' platitudes were considered deep.

"Yet after nearly five years of scandals, untruths, and hard economic times, a now-ignored Barack Obama has finally learned that even an iconic president can tell one too many untruths."

"So here’s what Obamacare’s first month has shown: You may not be able to keep your current insurance plan; you may not be able to keep your current doctor; you are probably going to have to pay more; and the entire program could come crashing down in an adverse-selection death spiral.

"It may not be long before Obamacare supporters look back longingly to the days when the health-care law was just a bad joke."

"No less with his employees than with members of Congress, Obama demands, expects, and rewards loyalty, and values it over competence, success, or even popularity. 

"Nobody has been fired for Fast and Furious, for allowing the murders in Benghazi, or for the IRS abuse of conservative groups. Loyalty to Don Obama is repaid with job security in the Cosa Nostra that is the Obama administration. 

"But regarding Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ career and Obamacare’s individual mandate, we are seeing the first cracks in the Democratic wall of solidarity. 

"Sebelius is under fire, directly or indirectly, from at least a few  Democrats in Congress, as well as from important voices in the liberal media."

"The woes of Healthcare.gov mean that the people with cancelled policies who are supposed to go find new insurance on the exchange can’t for now, and may not be able to by December 15, when they’d need to sign up to stay insured on January 1. When and if the website is finally functioning, many of these people won’t like what they see. In contradiction of another famous Obama promise, they will be charged more for their insurance to subsidize the costs of other people on the exchanges. For millions of Americans, Obamacare will be an experience in plumbing the depths of the dishonesty of President Obama’s case for his signature domestic accomplishment."

"[I]nsurance companies cannot survive Obamacare without the individual mandate. Under the law, they must offer insurance to anyone who needs it — often at an artificially low price at that. The only way they can make a profit is if the government upholds its promise to get millions of young, healthy people to sign up for more expensive insurance than they need. Take away the mandate — i.e., the penalty — and you make that virtually impossible. If the government tells insurance companies they still have to provide insurance to bad risks, it will be like the government telling Apple it has to sell iPhones at a loss. The insurance companies will sue. And as Dan McLaughlin of The Federalist notes, their lawyers will invoke the Obama administration’s arguments before the Supreme Court that the mandate was inseparable from the 'must-issue' requirements under the law."

"The problems with Obamacare go much deeper than a few million lines of faulty code and a sign-up system that swallows enrollee applications in a single electronic gulp.

"The bugs aren't just in the software. They're in the law itself.

"Consumers are finally seeing insurance rates and plans. In many cases, insurance premiums, deductibles and co-pays are rising. Illinois officials said premiums here would be lower than expected. But a Tribune analysis of 22 of the lowest-priced plans showed that those plans required huge annual deductibles of more than $4,000 for an individual — and $8,000 for family coverage.

"Lower premiums also come with a troubling tradeoff: access to a narrower networks of hospitals and doctors. If people aren't careful in choosing coverage, they may be shocked to find they have to pay much more for out-of-network care to go to their preferred doctor or hospital."

"President Barack Obama is using the disastrous crash of his Obamacare website to extract cash and volunteer hours from his supporters. 

"'By now, you’ve probably heard that the website has not worked as smoothly as it was supposed to,' Obama told his supporters in an email sent out late Tuesday. 

"'That’s why I need your help,' he said, in a video pitch that links to an online fundraiser.  ... 

"The video illustrates Obama’s eagerness and ability to convert even the most awkward policy setbacks into high-profile political campaigns that can help his progressive coalition. The money may be used to support Obamacare, but it likely will also be used to help Obama wage his next election campaign — the 2014 midterm election."

"The extremist in Washington is Barack Obama. He's the guy that wants to fundamentally transform our health care system. He's the guy who has done enormous damage to America's standing in the world. To the extent there is an extremist or radical political view in Washington these days, I believe it is the president of the United States."

"It’s not the GOP that President Barack Obama has to worry about in defending his botched health care rollout, it’s fellow Democrats. 

"They voted for the law, sang its praises for three-plus years and still believe in the promise of health care reform. But now they face a conundrum: stay in lock step with Obama and risk their credibility as advocates for the law’s benefits or publicly criticize the administration for its recent problems — especially a failure to more quickly acknowledge, and rectify, the major malfunction of its Internet marketplace. 

"It’s a particularly vexing question for Democrats worried about their party’s chances in the 2014 midterm elections, and, increasingly, they’re opting for the latter strategy. ... 

"While the administration is urging patience, Democrats who will face voters in a little over a year don’t have the luxury of time. They’re having to make decisions now about how to position themselves if the administration continues to struggle with implementing the central piece of a law they supported."

"There’s no actual debt ceiling right now. 

"The fiscal deal passed by Congress on Wednesday evening to re-open the government and get around the $16.4 trillion limit on borrowing doesn’t actually increase the debt limit. It just temporarily suspends enforcement of it. 

"That means Americans have no idea how much debt their government is going to rack up between now and Feb. 7, when the limits are supposed to go back into place and will have to be raised. 

"There is no dollar amount set for how much debt the government can accumulate between now and then. The suspension strategy was employed first earlier this year during previous fiscal battles in Congress."