White House spokesman Jay Carney couldn't tell reporters how many people have actually enrolled in Obamacare Thursday, but he was more than happy to promote that 7 million people have visited the Obamacare website since the marketplaces opened Oct. 1.
"We don't have that data," he said. "We're focused on improving the consumer experience, making sure that the American people have the information they need through healthcare.gov and through the toll-free number to begin to make assessments about what kind of insurance they'd like."
Carney did give Southwest Airlines a nod during the conference.
"In the two days since the marketplaces opened, 7 million have visited healthcare.gov, and that's unique visitors," he said. "That's more than the number of people who visit SouthwestAirlines.com in a month. So as a measure of interest, it is substantial. What we have said all along is this is a six-month process. We have 180 days to go."
Obamacare's opening has been fraught with glitches and errors. Even an MSNBC reporter confessed she found the experience of signing up exasperating Tuesday.