Sebelius to Resign, Spin Begins

After serving five years as Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius will give up her post. Although “officials” say she wasn’t forced out, her resignation seems conveniently timed. After the embarrassing Obamacare rollout, the administration probably hopes her absence will give enough people amnesia just in time for mid-term elections.

Ezra Klein of Vox Media says Sebelius resigned because “Obamacare has won.” He believes that President Barack Obama’s “strategy” of ignoring calls for Sebelius’s resignation worked.

“Obamacare’s first year, despite a truly horrific start, was a success. More than 7 million people look to have signed up for health insurance through the exchanges. Millions more have signed up through Medicaid. And millions beyond that have signed up for insurance through their employers.”

Conservative Ben Domenech says Sebelius’s departure “presents Republicans with an unexpected opportunity to refocus the conversation on Obamacare’s negatives, offers a chance to force vulnerable Senate Democrats to take a hard vote on Obamacare six months before the midterms, and serves to disrupt what had been a positive few days of media spin for the health care law into another conversation about its many failings.”

As expected, both sides see the positives in Sebelius’s departure. One thing is certain. The name Sebelius will be linked with Obamacare for years to come.