This article is from the archive of our partner .

The end of March last week saw a crucial test for the Obama administration: the deadline for Obamacare signups. With the health care law as divisive as ever, and considering it had a slew of technical problems to boot, The Daily Show last night examined how the president's signature legislation fared at its March 31 deadline. 

The goal the administration set way back in the fall was, looking back, perhaps a bit pie-in-the-sky: 7 million enrollees by the end of March. "Come on! Seven million enrollees with a website you couldn't log onto for a month and government-mandated abortion panels for puppies? You'll never get there!" Stewart said.

And then, the signup total was hovering around 4 million at the end of February. Stewart: "It's a fever dream! A preposterous fantasy!"

Except ... the administration did in fact hit its goal, with 7.1 million signups by March 31. "Wow, you got it almost exactly ... that will ease suspicion. Cue the celebration?" Stewart quipped. Because you just know everyone at Fox News believes the numbers are bogus.

So, how exactly did Obamacare reach its goal? The president explains: "People got the word out. We didn't make a hard sell."

Um, what? Not a hard sell? Here, let Stewart run through the ways the administration did in fact make the hardest of sells:

"The signup was the centerpiece of your State of the Union address, you talked it up on Ellen, on Rachel Ray, on The Tonight Show, enlisted an army of professional athletes, every actor in hollywood, you sat between two ferns. And then there was whatever the hell this is:

A rapping pug to promote health insurance. Why not? (Comedy Central)

Didn't give the hard sell? For God's sake, you taught a dog to rap about health insurance."

Sorry Obama, but something tells me your administration actually tried really really hard to hit the 7 million mark. And with good reason – you should be proud. Just know that nobody's buying this false-humility "not a hard sell" B.S. 

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.