Did Keeping a Promise Hurt Obama?

There are many critics of  the Affordable Healthcare Act, also known as Obamacare, I am one of them. I agree with Dan Rather, when he said that Obama's first, second and third priorities should have been Jobs. Now Obamacare has become a political nagging injury of the Obama administration. It is unpopular among many according to the popular polls, for various reasons. It may become a huge hindrance to a second term for Brother O.
So why did Obama make Healthcare such a big priority in his first term? Especially since he campaigned on ending the War in Iraq and Income fairness as major issues. In fact it was Hilary Clinton who had Health care in 2008 as a major issue, as well as being a major force on Bill Clinton's failed attempt to get Universal Health care during his administration.
In my opinion the Obama 2008 campaign needed immediate support from the Clintons to bring the Democratic Party together. There had been some talk of Hilary running as a third party candidate and of course there was the White female voters who made up Clinton's base. It would not be a far stretch of the imagination to realize that since Obama was  really not  concerned about Health care as a priority, he was made to promise that he would make it his number one priority  if he were elected.
If this is the case he could have changed his mind and focused on what he felt was important. But that would have been very difficult since the person you made the promise to, is now your Secretary of State.
Then there is the question of honor. I was raised to believe that it was dishonorable to make a promise and then break it for selfish reasons.
Whether it was honor, a misguided political decision, or complete naivety, if Obama made that promise to Clinton, he stood behind it. Maybe he actually came to believe in it's necessity. Either way I see Obama as a man of high character, brave, a person who believes in the power of keeping one's word.