Yesterday's press conference saw Obama at his least compelling: the burdened genius mode, in which he shows clear frustration with others' inability to follow his logic and shows little sympathy for those who don't share his faith in his own vision.

In general, Obama's personal reactions to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rollout have resembled those of misbehaving boyfriend. "I'm sorry you feel that way" instead of a real apology and "I meant it when I said it" instead of an explanation.

Along those lines, the press conference was in many ways a master class in mansplaining. His arrogance peeled off another layer of cool, and he seemed genuinely surprised that the American people could seriously accused him of intentionally misleading the country:

I don't think I'm stupid enough to go around saying, this is going to be like shopping on Amazon or Travelocity, a week before the website opens, if I thought that it wasn't going to work.

In other words, "I'm too smart to have lied to you knowing I'd get caught." If a straying boyfriend says that, all it means is that he'll try harder not to get caught next time.

Even the repeated feints at the right technological parallel – which are both doomed and inadequate – contain an element of condescension. First in the sense of "Grandma, it's just like that time you bought airline tickets", and now, "It's complicated, you wouldn't understand". (The intellectual market for appropriate pop culture signifiers for the ACA is truly glutted, but Texas congressman Steve Stockman is clearly trying to corner it. Follow him on Twitter if you enjoy non-sequiturs such as:

What can you say about Obamacare that wasn't said about New Coke? — Rep. Steve Stockman (@SteveWorks4You) November 13, 2013

The repeated sports metaphors didn't help: who wants politics to be more like football anyway? It's already plagued by enough head injuries. Mostly as a result of them hitting desks.

And even when Obama finally showed some humility and accountability it was filtered through screen of, "Dude where's my Obamacare?" nonchalance: "That's on me." Formal mea culpas weren't getting through; presidents often lapse into the vernacular when backed into a rhetorical corner.

My imagined conversation in the Oval Office: "'The buck stops here' is good, now can we say that in 'bro'?"

The ACA has, unfortunately, been doomed to frat-boy discourse: from, "This is a big fucking deal" to the controversial "brosurance" ads that seem less like enrollment promotions than GOP false flag operations. That's unfortunate, of course, because the only real solution to the country's – and the White House's – ACA woes is the opposite of game-day bluster and beer-ad instant satisfaction. We're just going to have to wait.

The best that can be said about the administrative "fix" Obama described – and it deserves the scare quotes – is also what most people are complaining about: it doesn't really do very much. It's true that by allowing insurers to continue to offer ACA noncompliant plans, the administration has just shifted the blame for their cancellation on the companies that offer them. I'd argue that's where the blame ultimately resides. The junk plans the companies offered did not come into existence because they were interested the long-term well-being of the clients. Those plans were the product of a rigged game that allowed insurance company to exclude for the sick and high-risk from more reasonable policies.

Indeed, raising the ire of the insurance industry is the main, if not only, outcome of this tweak. The "instability" bemoaned by their trade association could lead to higher premiums, but that's only if a) insurance companies continue to offer the non-compliant plans and b) the young and healthy decide to enroll in them. Neither is especially likely, the first because, well, there's no force behind the administration's request and there's little incentive to continue to offer those plan in the new competitive landscape offered by the exchanges. And b) well, a).

So if b) doesn't happen, nothing happens. The ACA stays entirely intact. This is, of course, what the White House wants, and it does mean that press conference was essentially a piece of theater designed to shift blame. The reviews of that play are in and they're not good. The right has sniffed out the lack of real change, the left is outraged that the administrative hasn't done anything to "alleviate the political pressure" that threatens the entire party and its 2014 hopes.

I think Obama knows this is what's happening and perhaps this is where his streak of cold arrogance becomes an asset. To cave to either side would undo the entire legislation; experts have warned repeatedly that this is no change that would not sabotage it. Obama and his team (and many experts!) still believe the ACA can and will work if given time. Is it worth the political cost? In the short term, most definitely not. The GOP has popular opinion trending on on its side for the first time in years, and they will run this issue into the ground. Democrats will flip. Repeal is a real threat.