Uh-Oh': Kathleen Sebelius' Nightmare Moment Visiting People Trying to Sign Up for Obamacare

You'd think visiting friendly territory would provide embattled Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius a bit of a breather from the heat she's taken lately for the relentlessly failing Obamacare website.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius met with people trying to sign up for Obamacare in Florida on Tuesday. (Image source: WFOR-TV)

But during a stop at a Miami hospital to meet with Obamacare website navigators helping prospective applicants sign up in person Tuesday, a rather uncomfortable moment was caught on camera.

At one table Sebelius met Carmen Salerno, who was trying to sign up online. Brian Andrews, a reporter from WFOR-TV in Miami, remarked that Salerno's computer screen was displaying some all-too-familiar text.

“The screen says 'I’m sorry but the system is temporarily down,'” Andrews said.

“Uh-oh,” Sebelius said, according to WFOR. (It should be noted that when the "uh-oh" response is heard on video, Sebelius' face is inadvertently blocked on camera, so the clip itself doesn't show her saying those words; she's reported to have said it, however, by WFOR.)

UPDATE: The new video below from Fox News shows the latter exchange occurring from a different angle, and Sebelius is not depicted saying "uh-oh," as WFOR previously reported. "Uh-oh" is stated by someone else not depicted in the clip, according to the video.

“That happens every day,” Salerno interjected, WFOR reported. “It must mean a lot of people are on there trying to get coverage.”

Willy Williams of Miami was also working with a navigator to get signed up online.

“It went down three times,” Williams told the station, noting he thought he was making progress, “but we’re just going to keep trying."

Sebelius said the Obamacare website wasn't sufficiently tested before its disastrous Oct. 1 launch. According to WFOR, she added, “Had I known then what I know now, things would have been different."

Sebelius also acknowledged widespread user frustration during a news conference.

“For a number of them, they are frustrated with the web experience that they had but eager enough for the coverage that they're going to return over and over again," she said. "What I know is that if that if you're not in that situation and you tried the website a couple of times, we're going to have to work extra hard to get you back."

Andrews said Sebelius also revealed how many people in south Florida successfully signed up for Obamacare on Tuesday using the website: two.

Here's the clip from WFOR:

This post has been updated to reflect that a Fox News video shows Kathleen Sebelius not saying "uh-oh," as first reported by WFOR-TV. Those words are stated by someone else not depicted in the clip, according to the Fox News video.

(H/T: Weasel Zippers)

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