Marathon Pundit: Remember those Andy Griffith ObamaCare ads? They cost taxpayers $2.78 million

The Obama administration is seeking ways to save the federal government money and offering "save awards." Which got the Wall Street Journal thinking.

We don't work for the government, but here's our "save" suggestion: How about not spending some $3.5 million to deceptively promote ObamaCare?

It turns out it cost the Health and Human Services Department $2.78 million to buy airtime for three cable TV ads last year, featuring Andy Griffith praising the new entitlement. The "Matlock" eminence rendered his services pro bono, but Porter Novelli didn't. The media consulting firm racked up 668 billable hours and earned $404,384.40 producing the spots, according to documents released by the outside GOP advocacy group Crossroads GPS through the Freedom of Information Act.

At least Porter Novelli didn't charge taxpayers for fact-checking. Among Mr. Griffith's many deceptive claims, he tells his fellow seniors that their Medicare benefits won't change (they will, most immediately in Medicare Advantage) and that ObamaCare strengthens the program's finances (it doesn't, according to the chief Medicare actuary). Lovable ol' Andy of Mayberry then says "that new health-care law sure sounds good" to him, in a transparent bid to win over senior voters in advance of the 2010 election.

The next time the President wants to run misleading ads ahead of an election, he might hit up the Democratic Party or use his bully pulpit, rather than passing the bill to taxpayers. Meantime, an Administration functionary says in a new promotional Web video for the save award—how much did that one cost to produce?—that "Something that seems relatively small if replicated over the full length of the federal government can really result in substantial savings."