Flashback: Journalists Marveled Over Healthcare.gov Before It Opened

While the media are now calling the ObamaCare rollout a "mess [1]" and the website a "bust [2]," some journalists and pundits were a lot more optimistic right before the exchanges opened.

Despite warnings [3] that the website and exchanges would not be ready to open on time, journalists marveled over how easy the website, Healthcare.gov, would be to navigate. That optimism crumbled as, in one notable case, it took CNN's Elizabeth Cohen two weeks [4] to sign up for ObamaCare. Below are the five most embarrassing endorsements of Healthcare.gov:

[Video below. Audio here [5].]

'A Huge Breakthrough' for the Uninsured

"Tomorrow, ordinary Americans who don't have health insurance get a chance to sign up for the first time. That's a huge breakthrough. You can go to Healthcare.gov. If you're watching right now, you don't have health care, or your mama doesn't, you can go to Healthcare.gov and sign up for health insurance. That's a good thing in America. It's crazy town up here because something good is happening in our country and some people just can't stand for something good to happen for the American people."
– CNN's Crossfire co-host Van Jones on New Day, September 30

'Easy to Read,' 'Easy' to 'Navigate' Despite Right-Wing Lies

"This is the website folks, Healthcare.gov. If you go to this website you will find out how easy it is to read, how easy it is to navigate all the information, all the basic questions, and all the direction you need to take to get involved to get health care. This is a great guide, if I may say, for any of you out there who feel so confused by all of these right-wing commercials that are just permeating through your television screen and also in the sound culture of the country with the right-wing talkers of America."
– MSNBC host Ed Schultz on The Ed Show, September 30

Like Shopping on Amazon – Once It's 'Up and Running'

"Well, once it's fully up and running, you'll go online, and it will be a lot like shopping for anything online on – on Amazon. You'll look at the different health insurance plans that are offered in your area and you will pick the one that works best for you and your family and you will hit 'buy'."
– Bloomberg's Peter Gosselin on CBS This Morning, September 28

Like Shopping on Travelocity

"And you know what's interesting, is this is really like going to shop for a flight on Travelocity. You're going to a place; you're comparing costs, you're choosing coverage. That's what you need to know. This is all starting tomorrow."
– CBS's Jill Schlesinger on CBS This Morning, September 30

'Easy to Read'; Like Mall Shopping

"Get ready to shop at the health insurance marketplace or exchange. Think of it as a health insurance mall for your state, where each store represents a different insurance company. You'll get an easy to read map or menu of options to help you navigate which plan makes the most sense for you and your family."
– ABC's Rebecca Jarvis on Good Morning America, September 30