Sensationalism Wins!

I was a little confounded by the way the conservative media has kept up a constant attack on the Affordable Care Act which they of course call Obamacare to make sure their message is to injure Obama rather than discuss anything rationally.

Is the American public that easily moved that if you bang on long enough about a topic with enough (mis)information then it becomes the only thing people think/talk about?

Unfortunately I believe that is the case.  Although I don't think the US is alone in this.  In other times in other countries the mantra was "The bigger the lie the more they (the masses) will believe it".

And given the power of Madison Avenue in modern American history a la "The Selling of the President" the real question is why it would take me so long to figure it out.

Granted the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine under the Reagan Administration made it even easier to sway the population, but the truth is people tend to only hear what they want to hear, so you may just as well narrow down their choices to improve your chance of getting them to believe what you want them to.

It seems to me that the Affordable Care Act delivered on most of its promises.

People can keep their kids on their family policies until the kids are 26.
People can't be denied insurance because of a pre-existing condition.
People can't have their insurance policies cancelled because they get sick.
People who can't afford health insurance will get tax credits to help them pay for it.
People will be able to compare policies between insurance companies at multiple levels of coverage and pay group rates.
Insurance companies will be required to put 80% of revenues toward health care. Any difference between the amount put toward health care and 80% will be returned to the customers.

Promises not kept:
Some people won't be able to keep their old policies as promised. However, most of the people in question will be able to get better insurance for less money.

So why focus on the promise they didn't keep?

Yes you are right.  It's the same tactic that focused on "Swift Boats", on "Death Panels" and the like.  Pick a theme.  Find a flaw.  Ride it to death and bingo-you drown out any rational discussion.