Live Blogging Obama's Fourth Presser

1:23 p.m.

Q: Have you seen the video of Neda's shooting? Reaction?

Obama: "It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking. I think that anybody who sees it knows that there is something fundamentally unjust about that."

More on the general situation in Iran: "I think it's important for us to make sure that we let the Iranian people know that we are watching what's happening. That they are not alone in this process."

"We have to believe that ultimately justice will prevail."

1:21 p.m.

Q: People are criticizng the recovery plan, specifically African American unemployment rate will hit 20 percent by end of the year. Why not target intervention now to stop bloodletting in black unemployment rate?

Obama: Black and Latino unemployment rate consistently higher than the national average. The best thing that I can do for the African American or Latino communities is to "get the economy as a whole moving." "If I don't do that then I'm not going to be able to help anybody."

1:15 p.m.

Q: Unemployment is likely to reach double digits. Do you think you need a second stimulus package?

Obama: "Not yet. I think it's important to see how the economy evolves and how effective the first stimulus is." Stimulus package was one of the first things we did. Nobody understood then what the depths of this recession would look like. "It's not surprising then that we missed the mark in terms of our estimates." ... I think it's pretty clear that unemployment will go above 10 percent.

More: "In the absence of the stimulus, I think our recession would be much worse." More layoffs would have resulted. "People are going through a very tough time right now. And I don't expect them to be satisfied."

1:09 p.m.

Q: How many cigarettes a day do you now smoke? Do you smoke alone or in the presence of other people? And do you believe new law will help you quit?

Obama: New law is not about me, it's about the next generation of kids coming up. My smoking is "irrelevant" to new law.

More: "Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No. I don't do it in front of my kids. I don't do it in front of my family. I would say I'm 95 percent cured. But there are times when I mess up."

1:04 p.m.

Q: Jake Tapper restates earlier question (co-opts, Obama notes) about how private insurers will be able to compete with a public plan. Is it negotiable?

Obama: "We are still early in this process. We have not drawn lines in the sand other than that reform has to control cost." "Our position is that a public plan makes sense."

1:02 p.m.

Q (from NBC's Chuck Todd): Why haven't you spelled out consequences for actions of Iranian government?

Obama: "I think, Chuck, we don't know yet how this is going to play out."

2:59 p.m.

Q: Tougher talk today on Iran. Were you influenced at all by John McCain and Lindsey Graham calling you timid and weak?

Obama: "What do you think?" ... "Only I'm the president of the United States. I've got responsiblities in making certain that we are continually advancing our national security interests and that we are not used as a tool by other countries."

12:57 p.m.

Q: Will HC drive private insurers out of business?

Obama: I think that there's going to be some health debates in Congress about the shape that this takes. Legitimate concerns among private insurers that public plan should not be funded by taxpayers endlessly.

12:48 p.m.

Q (from FOX): What took you so long to be appalled and outraged (as Obama noted in his opening remarks) about the situation in Iran?

Obama: Not accurate. "We've been entirely consistent, Major, in terms of how we've approached this." We won't be "a foil" for what's happening on the streets of Iran. "This is not an issue about the United States. This is an issue about the American people." But universal issues -- freedom of assembly and speech, and that governments aren't using violence -- are in play.

12:47 p.m.

Q: Is the Fed getting too powerful?

Obama: "We are not so much expanding the Fed's power as we are focusing what the Fed needs to do ... "

12:44 p.m.

Q: Rate Ben Bernanke.

Obama: "I'm not going to make news about Ben Bernanke. Although I think he's done a fine job under difficult circumstances."

12:42 p.m.

Huff Post's Nico Pitney transmits a question from an Iranian reader (in what appears a set up, as Obama turns to him and asks specifically for that inquiry).

Q: Under which conditions would Obama accept the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

Obama: "There are sets of international norms and principles about violence, about dealing with peaceful dissent, that spans cultures, that spans borders, and what we've been seeing over the Internet ... violates those norms, violates those principles. I think it's not too late for the Iranian government to recognize that there's a peaceful path that will lead" to peace and prosperity for the Iranian people. "I hope they take it."

12:39 p.m.

First question from the AP -- Given latest developments, is the administration still open to negotiations with Iran?

Obama: "We are going to monitor and see how this plays itself out before we make any judgments about how we proceed." But there is a path available to Iran in which their traditions and culture are respected but in which they are also part of an international community where certain norms are expected.

12:37 p.m.

On health care: "Like energy this is legislation that must and will be paid for." "Unless we fix what's broken in our current system, everyone's health care will be in jeopardy." "Reform is not a luxury, it's a necessity."

12:35 p.m.

Urges passage of clean energy bill. Thanks Rep. Henry Waxman for his leadership.

12:30 p.m.

Obama: Starts presser by saying he strongly condems the violence in Iran. Acknowledges sovereignty of Iran, but adds: "We must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people."

More: "We've seen courageous women stand up to the brutality and threats. We've experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets."

The Iranian people have the universal right to assemble, he added. And if the Iranian government seeks relationships with the nations of the world, it "must govern through consent and not coercion."

Set to start any minute. I'll be live blogging ... Stay tuned.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)