It was a stunning turn, not just in Obama’s rhetoric but in his policy. His signature health care law aimed to cancel low-grade plans to provide better coverage for the under-insured — too often, he has said, Americans find out their insurance doesn’t cover their medical bills only after they get sick.

The apology didn’t sit well with some Democrats on Capitol Hill, who feel that there’s now another layer between them and communicating the benefits of the law to the public.

“Democrats woke up this morning hoping the top headline would be either the Toronto mayor’s crack-smoking rant or the very positive jobs report, not an apology from the president,” said one miffed senior House Democratic aide.

But Obama was also facing pressure from another cohort of Democrats to come up with a strategy to extricate himself – and congressional allies who had repeated his words — from the political flypaper of a broken promise.