The rest of the story

First, while I'd love to dispute the popular claim, that the rollout of the ACA on Oct. 1, 2013, has indeed become Obama's Katrina, I have to confess that any kind of refutation on my part is simply not worth the breath, because it all comes back to a very obvious point. How the hell could anybody in the Obama administration in August or September look the president in the face and say, “We're ready to roll, sir”? In light of what we now know, in light of the staggering unreadiness that was about to make itself glaringly obvious on a national and worldwide stage, how could anyone in Barack's inner circle, whether it be Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, Secretary of Health Kathleen Sibelius, or any of a dozen other insiders, look at Obama as Oct. 1 approached and say, “It's a go, Mr. President”? How in the hell could this happen? You people didn't know that you were about to piss all over your loafers?

In light of this massive blooper, the realities that seem to now dominate the performance of the federal government since the beginning of the new millennium are, you might say, a tad underwhelming. Basically, what we seem to specialize in these days is high level incompetence combined with extremely poor judgment. By supporting Mr. Obama in '08 and '12, I thought, at the very least, I was striking a blow for the return of some kind of D.C. competence. That faith has, in the last few months, taken a fairly substantial nightstick to the noggin.

But to be journalistically fair, there's the flip side of the coin, and it's just as real as the bummers and missteps. So don't have too good of a time cavorting gaily on that carousel of schadenfreude, Republican cretins.

Because there is this: One of the best things that happened to me in 2013 occurred on the day I got my letter of dismissal from Anthem/Blue Cross. I kid you not. I understand that many Americans may truly want to hang on to their current health plans. Good luck to you. All I want to say, though, is THANK GOD ANTHEM DUMPED ME! Those guys have been, for the last few years, bending me over and schtupping me lube-free. I had to buck up, suck up and take it. I had no alternative. Guys like me, with pre-existing conditions, had zero choice.

Now, with the ACA in place, I can shop. I'm back in the market. When I visited my health insurance broker, here's what I found, to my very pleasant surprise: (1) The Nevada health exchange is very together. It's the opposite of the national website mess. Yay for us! (2) My monthly health insurance plan through the Nevada exchange is going to be just fine. And my monthly bill will be reduced by 85 percent. You heard me. That ain't no typo. 85 percent!

So before you pee in your pants about your precious plan being canceled, before you assume that Obama is the Hitler of Health, or any other hysterical horseshit, give the new scene a shot. You just may be impressed. And delighted.