A casual reader of the news over the past few days might think Obamacare is an unmitigated failure—an unfolding disaster that will be to President Obama what Katrina and the Iraq War were to Bush. You have the Department of Health and Human Services reducing its projections for expected enrollment next year, the Supreme Court taking up a case that could wipe out a huge chunk of the program for a huge chunk of the country, and the right wing in high dudgeon over videotaped comments by MIT economist Jonathan Gruber.

This is nothing new for Obamacare. Waves of bad publicity seem to pummel the program every few months—sometimes for news that is genuinely bad, sometimes for news that is ginned up by political opponents. But the most important indicator of progress isn't headlines. It's data on what’s actually happening and how people using the program feel.

Today, one day before next year’s open enrollment period launches, we have one new piece of information. And it's good.

It’s a poll, from the Gallup Corporation, of people who bought insurance on the new marketplaces last year. Gallup asked, how would you rate the quality of your insurance coverage? More than 70 percent rated it as “good” or “excellent.” The numbers were largely consistent with what all people who have insurance replied.

Then Gallup asked, are you satisfied with the cost? This time, 75 percent said yes. And, again, the numbers were right in line with what most Americans say.