We can understand that, human nature being what it is. Many people will put things off as long as possible. Relaxing the deadline would mean that some folks would just keep Medicare D, as the program is known, on the back burner.

But because the program is so complex, offering Utahns dozens of different, competing options, and because many people can't figure it out by themselves, but require help from experts and family members, we continue to believe that Congress and the president should give seniors another month to sign up without penalty.

Our secret hope is that the president will continue to talk tough through Monday, dragooning people to get the job done, then give those who don't make it a short reprieve after the fact.

But that's wishful thinking on our part. Don't put off signing up in the hope that Congress and the president will give you more time. The best advice is to get it done today, before Monday's last-minute crush. (Think of midnight income-tax filers.)

One reason we believe that seniors should get more time is that Congress and the president are the people responsible for creating this maze of premiums, co-pays, tiers, co-insurance, formularies, doughnut holes and the rest. And they, our elected leaders, don't have to deal with the system because they're on the health-insurance plan for federal workers.

Our leaders also are ultimately responsible for the Medicare hotline which, the Government Accountability Office reported last week, gave callers wrong or incomplete answers to their questions about Medicare D one out of three times.

President Bush may say that the system is not too complicated. But the parents of Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt, who is responsible for Medicare, went wrong when they signed up.

They needed a do-over.