It's been just over a month since ObamaCare's disastrous launch, and it's just over three years until the scheduled election of Barack Obama's successor. It's going to be a long three years. The exposure of Obama's signature "achievement" as both incompetent and fraudulent (with its economic inviability yet to be realized) is also showing the administration's true face. It is an ugly one, and we can expect to see a lot more of it while Obama remains in office.

This morning the White House went on the attack against a cancer patient who is also a victim of ObamaCare. Edie Littlefield Sundby of San Diego explains in today's Wall Street Journal that she's been managing a case of stage 4 gallbladder cancer, an affliction whose five-year survival rate is just 2%. Having survived the diagnosis by seven years so far, she beat very long odds--and she did so with the help of an excellent insurance plan that covered care at three hospitals, two in California and one in Texas.

In touting ObamaCare, Obama asserted at least two dozen times (in slightly varying language) that if you like your health plan, you can keep it. As Sundby explains, she is a victim of Obama's fraudulent sales pitch:

Since March 2007 United Healthcare has paid $1.2 million to help keep me alive, and it has never once questioned any treatment or procedure recommended by my medical team. The company pays a fair price to the doctors and hospitals, on time, and is responsive to the emergency treatment requirements of late-stage cancer. Its caring people in the claims office have been readily available to talk to me and my providers.

But in January, United Healthcare sent me a letter announcing that they were pulling out of the individual California market. The company suggested I look to Covered California starting in October.

Covered California is the state ObamaCare exchange, one of those that, unlike the administration-built federal one, has some degree of technical functionality. Thus Sundby was able to log in and check out her options, which--contrary to Obama's "new and improved" sales pitch, that people whose policies are canceled will get better insurance--were unsatisfactory. No plan available to her would cover both her primary-care doctor at the University of California, San Diego, and her oncologist at Stanford.

Obama and Pfeiffer Associated Press

Sundby asks: "What happened to the president's promise, 'You can keep your health plan'? Or to the promise that 'You can keep your doctor'? Thanks to the law, I have been forced to give up a world-class health plan. The exchange would force me to give up a world-class physician."

This morning Dan Pfeiffer the fast-talking flack tweeted out a piece from ThinkProgress.org, a leftist propaganda outfit. Titled "The Real Reason That the Cancer Patient Writing in Today's Wall Street Journal Lost Her Insurance," the piece, by one Igor Volsky, claims that "Sundby shouldn't blame reform." Volsky instead blames United Healthcare, which, he writes, "dropped her coverage because they've struggled to compete in California's individual health care market for years and didn't want to pay for sicker patients like Sundby":

"The company's plans reflect its concern that the first wave of newly insured customers under the law may be the costliest," UHC Chief Executive Officer Stephen Helmsley told investors last October. "UnitedHealth will watch and see how the exchanges evolve and expects the first enrollees will have 'a pent-up appetite' for medical care. We are approaching them with some degree of caution because of that."

Get that? The company packed its bags and dumped its beneficiaries because it wants its competitors to swallow the first wave of sicker enrollees only to re-enter the market later and profit from the healthy people who still haven't signed up for coverage.

Sundby is losing her coverage and her doctors because of a business decision her insurer made within the competitive dynamics of California's health care market.

All this may be true, but it begs the question. The addition of a phrase to that last sentence shows why: Sundby is losing her coverage and her doctors because of a business decision her insurer made within the competitive dynamics of California's health care market under the regulatory structure established by Obama's comprehensive "reform."

Obama did not qualify his pitch by stating that if you like your health plan, you can keep it unless your insurer makes a business decision to the contrary within the competitive dynamics of your state's health care market.

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Best of the Web Today columnist James Taranto on how ObamaCare is defrauding consumers. Photo credit: Associated Press.

To the contrary, he represented ObamaCare as protecting consumers from precisely that sort of cruel business decision, and he has not backed away from that fraudulent promise: At a speech last Wednesday, he asserted that the only policies being canceled were "substandard" ones offered by former "bad-apple insurers" whose practices ObamaCare reformed.

Over the weekend a New York Times editorial parroted that line, claiming that "insurers are not allowed to abandon enrollees" and that "people forget how terrible many of the soon-to-be-abandoned policies were." But even the Times editors can't quite defend the if-you-like-your-plan-you-can-keep-it fraud. The best they can do is equivocation: "Mr. Obama clearly misspoke when he said that."

To misspeak means to express oneself imperfectly or incorrectly. It implies either a careless choice of words or an unintended candor (as in a "Freudian slip"). Obama did not misspeak. As The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend, the slogan was the result of careful deliberation. Whereas "some White House policy advisers objected to the breadth of Mr. Obama's 'keep your plan' promise," "political aides" insisted upon it. The latter prevailed. In an interview with the Journal, one unidentified former official "added that in the midst of a hard-fought political debate 'if you like your plan, you can probably keep it' isn't a salable point."

The story closes by quoting a "policy expert" who shrugs off the deception:

Jonathan Gruber, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the law's impact on existing insurance arrangements was "a social policy decision the government made" and the president's description of it was "pretty low on the totem pole of political overstatements."

Suppose the deliberations the Journal describes had taken place in a corporate suite rather than a government one and had concerned a commercial rather than a political advertising slogan. In that case, we'd be talking about a criminal conspiracy to defraud consumers.

Yes, it's unrealistic to expect politicians to be held to the same standard of honesty as corporate executives. But what does astonish us about the Obama administration is the relentlessness and aggression of its efforts to blame others and evade political accountability. The tone is set at the top by a president who, at age 52, retains an adolescent's aversion to adult responsibility.

Still, you'd think a political professional would recognize that Edie Sundby's story calls not for an attack but for a show of compassion, even if one lacks the capacity for the real thing.

Here She Comes, Myth America

The Washington Post's Sarah Kliff, an Ezra Klein protegée, had a piece featuring "5 Myths About the Affordable Care Act" (that's the euphemism for ObamaCare). Click through if you want to read her explanations; we're just going to run through her enumerations of the myths:

1. Americans will be forced to buy health insurance. . . . 2. If you like your health plan, you can keep it. . . . 3. The exchange's big problem is that it 's overwhelmed by traffic. . . . 4. The exchanges will transform the insurance industry. . . . 5. The health-care law will increase the deficit.

The fifth one may or may not prove to be a myth; in "debunking" it, Kliff notes that "the Congressional Budget Office estimates that, over the next decade, the health-care law will reduce the deficit by $109 billion" because its costs will be offset by tax hikes and Medicare cuts. But while the CBO is authoritative, its predictions are not infallible, and this is but a prediction.

Our interest in highlighting this piece, though, is in what the first four myths all have in common: All are claims made on behalf of ObamaCare. The first one is a special case, in that it was true of the law as written but not (or less so) once it had gone through John Roberts's wringer. The other three, however, would all better be called lies or deceptions than "myths," and Nos. 3 and 4 are still being told by Obama and others.

Fox Butterfield, Is That You?

"A year after his reelection triumph, President Obama is facing an awkward question from friends and foes alike: Why can't he run the government as well as he ran his campaign? What with the IRS targeting of tea party groups . . . Obama increasingly seems to be battling top-level management failures as much as policy or political problems."--Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 3

Metaphor Alert

"But after Romney mauled the president in Denver, the wind and weather of the campaign shifted in something like a heartbeat. The challenger was surging. The polls were tightening. Republicans were pulsating with renewed hope. Democrats were rending their garments and collapsing on their fainting couches."--John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, New York magazine, Nov. 11 issue

Homer Nods

In Friday's item titled "Math Is Hard," we proved the point by making a slight miscalculation regarding food stamps. A reduction of $36 from a $668 monthly benefit is a decline of 5.4%, not 5.7% as we wrote. That reduces the number of "meals" by slightly less than five--4.85, not 5.13 as we calculated. Multiplied by a family of four, that amounts to 19.4 "individual meals," which is actually lower than the 21 the source we are citing had claimed.

We also made a conceptual error, in that we forgot to take into account that a "family of four" would likely include two or three school-age children, who would be eligible for two free meals each school day. Assuming a 180-day school year, that ought to reduce the average number of "individual meals" the family has to pay for with its own resources and food stamps each month from roughly 360 to 320 (in a two-child family) or 300 (in a three-child family).

Out on a Limb

"WH Senior Adviser: First Healthcare Enrollment Numbers Won't Be What We Want Them to Be"--headline, ABCNews.com, Nov. 3

Mission Accomplished

"Obama: 'I Want to Put the Fear of God in All of You' "--headline, CBSLocal.com (Washington), Nov. 4

Another Thing Putin Is Better At

"Book Alleges Obama Told Aides About Drone Strikes: I'm 'Really Good at Killing People' "--headline, CBSLocal.com (Washington), Nov. 3

Great Minds Think Alike

"Don't tell me words don't matter! 'I have a dream.' Just words. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' Just words! [Applause.] 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' Just words--just speeches!"--Barack Obama, Feb. 16, 2008

"For Many Iranians, 'Death to America' Are Just Words"--headline, NPR.org, Nov. 4, 2013

Be Careful, We Hear Michelle Is the Jealous Type

"Retired General: Some in Military Want to 'Take Out the President' "--headline, NationalJournal.com, Nov. 1

Someone at HHS Has a Dark Sense of Humor

"Celebrating 30 Years of Hospice Care"--headline, Medicare.gov, Nov. 4

'These Go to 5.5'

"GOP Moderates Vow to Speak Louder"--headline, Politico.com, Nov. 3

The First Article Ever to Bemoan Lazy Clichés

"Sound, Fury, Cliché! Lazy Pundits 'Double Down' on 'Game-Changing' 'Narratives' "--headline, Salon.com, Nov. 3

With DNC in Mind, City Bans Carrying Urine, Feces

"Dan Pfeiffer: 'Anyone Who Leaks Has to Pay the Price' "--headline, Puffington Host, Nov. 3

"Movement Extremes"--headline, New York Times, Nov. 3

There Is Trouble With the Trees

"How to Deal With New Emissions Standards? Some Plants Plan to Burn Wood."--headline, NationalJournal.com, Nov. 4

Hey, My Eyes Are Up Here!

"How to Find Glasses That Fit: Treat Them Like a Bra"--headline, San Francisco Chronicle website, Oct. 29

Fortunately, He Was Buried in His Flame-Retardant Jammies

"Mummy-Fried! Tutankhamun's Body Spontaneously Combusted INSIDE His Coffin Following Botched Embalming Job After He Died in Speeding Chariot Accident"--headline, Daily Mail (London), Nov. 2

The Lonely Lives of Scientists

"Size DOES Matter: Men With Collar Sizes of More Than 16 Inches Are Flops in the Bedroom, Say Scientists"--headline, Daily Mail (London), Nov. 2

Hey, Kids! What Time Is It?

"It's the Golden Age of News"--headline, New York Times, Nov. 4

Question and Answer--I

"Will Insularity, Incompetence, and Lies Doom Obamacare?"--headline, NationalJournal.com , Nov. 4, 2013

"Hey, Stop the Presses! The Pope Is Catholic"--headline, Akron Beacon Journal, July 17, 1989

Question and Answer--II

"When Did White Trash Become Normal?"--headline, New York Post, Nov. 2, 2013

"Philipstown Recycling Center to Accept White Goods and Electronics Every Saturday"--headline, Putnam County News and Recorder (Cold Spring, N.Y.), May 6, 2009

Question and Answer--III

"Calling America: Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello?"--headline, New York Times, Nov. 3

"Rep. Michaud: 'Yes, I Am Gay'"--headline, TheHill.com, Nov. 4

It's Always in the Last Place You Look

"Oakland Civil Rights Group to 'SNL': Where Are the Black Female Cast Members?"--headline, San Francisco Chronicle website, Nov. 2

"Vermont Women Inmates Find Outlet in Writing"--headline, Associated Press, Nov. 3

Too Much Information

"Watching Oprah Lovefest Was One Man's Weird Macon Moment"--headline, Telegraph (Macon, Ga.), Nov. 3

Help Wanted

"Pakistani Taliban Needs New Leader After Drone Hit"--headline, Associated Press, Nov. 2

Someone Set Up Us the Bomb

"Michael Kors' Huge 'Likes' Tally Provides Flipside to Rocky Instagram Ads Debut"--headline, AdWeek.com, Nov. 1

"Gordon's Chase Hopes Take Hard Hit in Texas"--headline, ABCNews.com, Nov. 4

News of the Tautological

"Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli are both looking to make Tuesday's election for governor into a referendum on President Barack Obama's health overhaul. . . . The race is going to be decided by the few Virginians who choose to vote."--Philip Elliott and Josh Lederman, Associated Press, Nov. 4

Breaking News From 1984

"Bill de Blasio Admits He's Not a Morning Person"--headline, Politicker.com, Nov. 2

Bottom Story of the Day

"Jesse Jackson Calls U.S. 'Land of the Free and Home of the Genocide' in Hateful Tirade"--headline, National Review Online, Nov. 1

Give Him a Medal

Get a load of liberal radio host Bill Press's defense of the ObamaCare scam, captured by NewsBusters.org:

What about President Obama, did he, uh, tell the exact truth? I'd have to say no. Should he have conditioned it? Yeah! He should have said, and Congressman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said this yesterday on our show, the president probably should have said 99 percent, he would have been absolutely right on. Or he should have said, by far most Americans, and he would have been absolutely right on.

Uh, he didn't, but I just have to say, uh, for the Republicans to make a big deal of that, I remember another president saying Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and we had to invade that country and we did. What did that cost in lives and in dollars? I remember another president saying Iraq had nuclear weapons and a vice president, the capacity, they either already had nuclear weapons or they could have one, like, within a year. I remember another president saying Iraq was a direct threat to the United States and we had no choice but to send our military in unilaterally in an illegal war and invade Iraq. So don't talk to me about a president telling the 100 percent truth. President Obama was selling a good plan, uh, and now we see there's one little wrinkle in the plan. You know what my reaction to the whole thing is? So what, it's no big deal.

He equivocates to a point that most of us would find exhausting, then immediately turns around and performs a well-poisoning non sequitur. He's the Bruce Jenner of faulty logic!

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(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Dennis Paine, John Sanders, Frank Ferriola, Storrs Warinner, Irene DeBlasio, Eric Jensen, David Hallstrom, Ed Lasky, Michele Schiesser, Richard Belzer, John Williamson, Tod Lindberg, Greg Askins, Anthony Galvan, John Bobek, Kyle Kyllan, Russell Hilleke, Jeff Bliss, Jeryl Bier, Paul Jones, Dave Ceely, Chris Papouras, Evan Slatis, Michael Smith, Zack Russ, P.J. Moriarity, Danny Brown, Kevin Killion, Bob Wukitsch and Phil Buckleman. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)