President Obama stood at the White House briefing room podium for nearly an hour this afternoon, reiterating his case for health care and energy legislation and issuing a condemnation of violence in Iran before fielding reporters' questions on foreign policy, the economy and the president's smoking habits, among other topics. Below is our live blog. All times are ET:

1:24: Obama cites one off his favorite quotes from Martin Luther King to end his comments on Iran and his news conference: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," the president quotes, adding, "We have to believe that ultimately justice is going to prevail."

1:23: Obama says he has seen the video of a woman demonstrator being shot in Iran. "It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking," the president says. "I think anyone who sees that knows there is something unjust about that." He says he has "concerns' about reports of quieter streets in Iran and the possibility that it might mean efforts to squelch dissent are succeeding.

1:22: The administration seeks partnerships with organizations that have "proven records" of placing disadvantaged youths in jobs, Obama says. "If there are tools that we can duplicate, then we're going to do so," he says.

1:20: Asked about why he's not doing more to stem the African-American unemployment rate, Obama says, The best thing I can do for the African-American community or the Hispanic community or the Asian community or whatever community is to get the economy as a whole moving."

1:18: Still on the economy: "What's incredible to me is how resilient the American people have been," Obama says. "I don't feel satisfied with the progress we have made." He says he wants to get stimulus funds into communities faster, and he's frustrated with the slow pace of mortgage assistance to homeowners.

1:16: "I anticipate that this is going to be a difficult year," Obama says of the economy. He demurs when asked to predict how high unemployment will go. He says he thinks his policies are helping even though the jobless rate has reached higher levels than the administration predicted. "In the absence of the stimulus, unemployment would be much worse."

1:14: Obama, who meets with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet this afternoon, praises her and President Luiz Lula of Brazil. Obama calls Lula "a pretty practical kind of guy," despite a political ideology well to the left of most Americans. He says the two presidents and their countries are examples to other South American countries "where democracy is not as deeply embedded as we'd like it to be."

1:10: Obama bristles when McClatchy Newspapers' Margaret Talev asks him about his struggle with smoking, a subject of much buzz in the news media this week because of Obama's signing into law a bill that gives the FDA sweeping authority to regulate tobacco. "I think it's fair, Margaret, to say you just think it's neat to ask me about my smoking," Obama grouses. "That's fine, it's an interesting human interest story. Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes, yes. I would say I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up."

1:08: Absent government action "a whole lot of Americans -- they're not going to have the same health care they have," Obama predicts.

1:07: Obama takes a shot at the health insurance industry: "Too often insurance companies have been thinking about how to take premiums and then avoiding how to provide coverage," he says.

1:05: "Was the reference to Spock a crack on my ears?" Obama asks when ABC's Jake Tapper describes the president's argument on health care as "Spock-like logic." Tapper responds, "I would never make fun of your ears, sir."

1:02: "When a young woman gets shot on the street, that's a problem," Obama says. But he won't say what consequences Iran may face if it continues suppressing dissent. Obama says he wants to see what happens. Reporters may be on a 24-hour news cycle "but I'm not," the president says.

1:00: "What do you think?" Obama says when asked whether calls by John McCain and other Republicans for a stronger statement on Iran influenced him. "I'm president of the United States, and I'll carry out my ideas as I think appropriate," he says.

12:57: Obama says private insurers may have "legitimate concerns" about the government-run health insurance plan that he wants as part of any overhaul of the system, but he mocks the idea that Uncle Sam will undercut them: "Why is it the government, which they say can't run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business?" Obama says.

12:56: Obama is using a question from USA TODAY's David Jackson to reiterate his argument for overhauling the health care system, pounding home the same arguments he has made for weeks on the proposal, which appears to be bogged down on Capitol Hill.

12:55: Providing insurance for the uninsured or for people who are struggling to maintain health coverage is "wise policy," Obama says.

12:54: Obama says he can "provide better care at a cheaper cost" by "reallocating dollars that are being spent in the health care system but that aren't being spent well."

12:52: Back on health care, Obama says the potential price tag of a plan should not stop a proposed overhaul in its tracks. "The notion that we can just keep on doing what we're doing and that's OK -- that's just not true," Obama says. "We have a long-standing critical problem in our health care system that's burdening our economy."

12:50: "What took you so long?" Major Garrett of Fox News asks Obama of his tough words on Iran. "I don't think that's accurate," Obama replies, insisting he's been speaking out since the beginning of the crisis.

12:46: Obama gets asked about the Federal Reserve, which would get sweeping powers under his financial regulatory plan. "I'm not going to make news about Ben Bernanke," Obama says of the Federal Reserve chairman, whose term is up next year. Obama acknowledged the Fed may not have done all it could to stave off last fall's credit meltdown, but since the crisis, Bernanke "has done a fine job."

12:42: Obama calls on a reporter for The Huffington Post to take a question that the reporter says came from an Iranian over the Internet. The questioner wants to know: Under what conditions would Obama accept the election results in Iran? "Ultimately, this is up to the Iranian people to decide who their government is going to be," the president says. He argues that there are "international norms" about the treatment of political dissenters that the Iranian government has violated. "It is not too late for the Iranian government to recognize that there is a peaceful path that will lead to prosperity and stability," Obama says. "We hope they will take it."

12:40: The first question is about Iran. "We are going to monitor and see how this plays itself out before we make any judgments as to how to proceed," the president says but adds he's "not encouraged" by what he sees.

12:38: Still delivering lengthy opening remarks, the president reiterates his push for an overhaul of the health care system. "Unless we fix what is broken in our current system, everyone's health care will be in jeopardy," he says. "Reform is not a luxury. It's a necessity."

12:36: The president turns toward the clean energy issue. A bill before the House "is extraordinarily important for our country," Obama says. "The nation that leads in creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st-century global economy."

12:35: "Suppressing ideas never makes them go away," Obama says. He says the Iranian government "must govern through consent and not coercion."

12:31 p.m.: President Obama, who has been urged by Republicans such as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to speak out more strongly on Iran, says he is "appalled and outraged" by the repression of political demonstrations in Iran. The United States "respects the sovereighty of the Islamic Republic of Iran," but "we deplore violence against innocent civilians anywhere," Obama says.

(Posted by Kathy Kiely)