@HumbleGirl: Heck, I know a couple of college freshmen that could have done this better!

Very true of many HG. This is what leads the opponents such as my self, to conclude that this administration is incompetent or complete liars. This is his signature piece that will define his presidency. Just doesn't add up...

@Fairlane67: How about both? Those options aren't mutually exclusive...

As I indicated corporations and the government (at all levels) have had an unholy alliance if you will darn near since the beginning of the republic. Halliburton which I mentioned earlier most likely got federal contracts due to their association with Dick Cheney. There is some disagreement as to the level of service HB provides. Some find them outstanding, others think they're bilking the taxpayers. In the 60s and 70s McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, and Bell Helicopter were the big boys on the block with political connections.All administrations pay back their political friends through contracting. Many times these contracts fly under the radar despite the frequent millions in cost overruns. In the case of the health website things went obviously very wrong which is why this is in the headlines, and of course due to the fact republicans are looking for anything to discredit the health law in general, let's get real.There is no doubt however that creating a site such as this is extremely complex. As I said in a previous thread when Medicare and Medicaid were first implemented there were major hiccups. But at the end of the day we're still talking about a WEBSITE. Sooner or later it will get fixed. In my opinion all of this hand wringing is much ado about nothing. Seems to me the larger concerns should be on whether or not the law ultimately works as intended.

So @rocket, this is the HOPE and CHANGE y'all wanted? Seems to me it's like more of the same crap.

@Fairlane67: Yes, this definitely disheartens me about the whole thing. I so hate when people get jobs who don't deserve them because of friendships, looks, whatever. And this is of course on a much grander scale.I had hope this administration was above the tactics I saw in previous ones. I'm really sad they aren't.

@traxla: Generally speaking politics are politics. No matter the party, no matter the Administration in charge. A president is not going to directly decide who gets what contract for instance. But his underlings do, and most of the time they're going to base those decisions on whom has been friendly to them. So not only is it political but human nature. Had Mitt Romney won the election, his people would be doing the exact same thing.

@HumbleGirl: HumbleGirl regrettably government at any level is not a meritocracy. There is too much bureaucracy involved. In most cases despite the Mayor, Governor, or Presidents good intentions certain people and entities are going to be favored because of who they know. This goes on by the way in private enterprise as well. How many people do you know have gotten promotions or other considerations they should not have? That's why it's called politics, and it will always be with us.

I expected better from the Obamas.

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@HumbleGirl: I hear you but no president or his administration is perfect. If anyone wants to dig deep enough they are going to find problems. But in presidential elections with don't vote for saints, rather we vote for individuals that we determine will do the most good for society despite the imperfections.

Would it be asking too much if some president, any president, any senator, congressman, could think about the good of the country at least occasionally? I'm fed up with the lot.Democrats, republicans, Tea Party!, all of them!We need to put some new crooks in office!

@HumbleGirl: Nope I never did!

@Undecided: First of all, in regards to the original post we're all making the assumption there is something improper going on in this case. There may or may not be. Secondly, I do understand your frustration. Parties now are generally more concerned with either keeping power or obtaining it. I do believe most nationally elected politicians go to Washington with the best of intentions. However, they soon get a dose of raw reality. They find out quickly between the lobbyist and party politics they don't have as much control as they envisioned. In the case of past presidents this realization hit them hard. I'm sure President Obama is no different in that regard. So no matter who we vote into office all will come to the conclusion it is much easier to make the speeches about changing the political culture than to actually put it into action.

Include supreme court justices in there as well - they have allowed corps to legally purchase votes.