Lisa Lerer

President Barack Obama said he’s sorry that thousands of Americans are losing their medical insurance as a result of his health care law, as his administration works to contain the political damage from the troubled roll-out of his signature domestic achievement.

Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, said earlier via Twitter that the “individual mandate timing hasn’t changed.” The deadline to get insurance remains March 31.

After the vice presidential debate in which Joe Biden challenged Paul Ryan on health care and taxes, experts say President Obama needs to take a similar stance tonight and go on the offensive, laying out clear contrasts with Mitt Romney and making the kind of personal connection with voters that helped him win four years ago.