I didn't say above all else, but I take your point. Of course, this is a balancing act, and I suspect we're both facing some selection bias, but I have to disag

I didn't say above all else, but I take your point. Of course, this is a balancing act, and I suspect we're both facing some selection bias, but I have to disagree that creating maintainable code is necessary for being described as a good programmer. At the end of the day, all programs are maintainable, as long as the source can be read and understood by a programmer. There is a huge advantage to having a well designed application structure, but there is no replacement for an application that meets its functional specification.