Incompetence, on the other hand, is far more damaging to the Democratic brand. Whereas the left and much of the narrative in the popular culture have already written Republicans off as impolitic and inept, liberals, on the other hand, assert their intellectual superiority and tout their “willingness to govern” and get things done as party mantra.

Not only is the left smarter and more sophisticated, they insist, they’re also supposed to prove that government can solve problems. More pointedly, that big, unwieldy bureaucracies like the Department of Health and Human Services and the IRS can solve massive problems, like healthcare.

Whether he was uninformed of or simply incurious about the potential failures, Obama’s lack of preparedness and competence in implementing his signature piece of legislation not only diminishes his credibility as a problem-solver, but it jeopardizes the faith in government that liberals rely on. When government looks hapless, private-sector innovators are empowered and emboldened. For liberals, that’s bad for business. Better they hope he was merely being dishonest.