The term "Obamacare" has largely disappeared from the mouths of Democrats as the president's health care reform law has gone from a rallying cry to a political grenade.
President Obama once said he embraced the phrase on the 2012 campaign trail, telling supporters, "I do care." As recently as Nov. 8, Obama predicted to a laughing crowd in New Orleans that his political opponents would stop using the term once the law became popular.
"I know health care is controversial, so there’s only going to be so much support we get on that on a bipartisan basis -- until it’s working really well, and then they're going to stop calling it Obamacare," he said. "They're going to call it something else."
However, it has seemed to change names with the Democrats instead as the law's popularity has slumped to new lows in the wake of Obama's broken promises, rising premiums, insurance cancellations and a disastrous rollout. Obama's approval rating has also plummeted as a result.
During an apologetic press conference Nov. 14, Obama referred to his law as the Affordable Care Act 12 times but did not say "Obamacare" once. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who has referred to the law as Obamacare in the past, told Meet the Press host David Gregory that she "always" referred to it as the Affordable Care Act during an interview Sunday, and other Democrats are backing off the term as well.