As the Obama administration rolled out the Affordable Care Act website, late-night hosts treated the ongoing launch as a punchline.
Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel have all skewered the found glitches (and subsequent statements from the president on how to fix them) as the enrollment process gets streamlined.
Here's a snapshot a the sharpest comedic barbs aimed at the site:
Jon Stewart
"All the Democrats have to do to gain, like, an 80 percent to 20 percent advantage in this country, all that stands in their way, is a mildly competent implementation of the healthcare policy they battled so hard to keep," Stewart figured on Monday during an intro segment devoted to the topic. It went downhill from there.
"When did the President of the United States turn into Gil from The Simpsons?" he asked.
Stephen Colbert
"Millions of Americans can't get health insurance. The Obamacare website is a disaster and I'm loving it," said the faux-conservative host on Wednesday.
At one point, Colbert played a clip from President Obama's remarks where he pledged a "tech surge" to fix the issue. "Yes, a tech surge, just like our Afghan surge -- which means we'll almost have it fixed in 12 years," the Comedy Central host quipped.
Conan O'Brien
"Some pundits are comparing President Obama pushing Obamacare to a late-night pitchman on an infomercial," O'Brien remarked on Tuesday. "When reached for comment, Obama said, 'That’s not true -- but don’t take my word for it, just ask some of these satisfied customers."
Jimmy Fallon
"It’s so bad that today President Obama held a press conference to address the issue, and he was like, 'We'll do our best to fix these technical problems ... these technical problems ... these technical problems ... the teleprompter's busted," Fallon joked Tuesday.
He added: "But don’t worry, the White House just announced that it’s bringing in the 'best and brightest' tech experts to fix the glitches on the Obamacare website. That's a good plan. But you know what would've been a better plan? Hiring the best and brightest tech experts to make the Obamacare website."
Jay Leno
"Today, there were more problems with the website," the Tonight Show host noted on Tuesday. "It seems when you type in your age, it's confusing because it's not clear if they want the age you are right now or the age you'll be when you finally login."
Leno elaborated: "Here's my favorite part: the President said yesterday that if it's taking too long and you're having trouble you can bypass the website and enroll by mail. Only the federal government could come up with a website that's slower than sending something by mail. Isn't that amazing?"
Jimmy Kimmel
On Monday, the ABC host played footage of an audience member growing faint during the President's address before being steadied by Obama. "There you go, now that's Obamacare: as long as you get sick in the presence of the president, you're covered," Kimmel quipped.
He later played a mock call waiting prompt from the Affordable Care Act. "Right now there are 8 million people ahead of you in line. Your estimated wait time is ... forever," went the call machine.
