For Democrats, politicians in handcuffs point to image problems

Americans have low—exceedingly low—opinions about government. It’s supposed to stay out of their hair until needed, at which point it’s supposed to solve problems instantly. For the full range of American needs, government is supposed to provide only two things: competence and honor.

For Democrats who have long championed government as a force for social good, competence is perhaps the biggest potential victim of the rocky rollout of the Obamacare insurance program.

Millions of Americans will gain coverage under the plan—some enjoying insurance for the first time—but their voices have been drowned out by the months-long criticisms of websites that wouldn’t work, deadlines that had to be extended, exceptions that had to be made. (The most recent: Tuesday’s news that the supposedly firm March 31 sign-up deadline was actually a bit squishy, extended into April for people who have started the sign-up process by the end of this month.)

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