KEN JAMES/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
Enter
one” is ensuring that the axe falls
heaviest on another gang of bureaucrats. Consequently, what we
got in the lead-up to the launch of
Healthcare.gov was a complicated
square dance of blame avoidance
that obscured the pending disaster.
Yes, the launch has been embarrassing. And yes, admitting
to a cock-up is something that
seems like it’s going to feel really
terrible before you do it. I mean,
you are going to tell a bunch of
reporters that you made a mistake. That’s clearly going to suck!
LOOKING FORWARD
IN ANGST
But if you follow the Belisle Doctrine, what you’ll discover is that
reporters are going to be so blown
away by the fact that you aren’t
spinning them that they may not
know how to react. They may
even choose to give you the thin
sliver of a benefit of the doubt.
What’s more is that the difficult
road ahead needs energy, and there
is nothing quite like the exhilarating, spine-stiffening energy of fully
taking responsibility for something.
What is the risk of taking responsibility? Are you worried that it
might catch on in Washington?
If the Obama administration can
draw anything valuable from its
HUFFINGTON
10.27.13
Call operators
answer
phones on the
first day of
Obamacare at
an eHealthInsurance
Services Inc.
call center in
Sacramento,
Calif., on
Oct. 1. The
Obamacare
insurance
exchanges
struggled to
handle a flood
of consumer
interest that
closed the
U.S. website
for much of
the day.