stroik? why aren't they closing irembassy and calling back their representive in the country? thank you very much. >> again, i think that is what world leaders are responding to. because of that demand inside the country, i've seen an evolution in measures or statements by many world governments that have become even stronger not just because they realize that we have to take a position of principal here, but because they have been encouraged by the positive feedback they have goten from iran itself, that this does have a positive impact. and it is more demanding. thank you. medical scientists have nothing to do with poindexter, but you have no choice but to get involved. morally our concern is a larger picture of the present

situation in iran, and i am hoping and praying that we are not falling again into the hand of destabilization of the situation to be abused by foreign elements, especially in the middle east, for the benefit of one country against iran. that has been the case many times. . also with the situation in iraq. >> i hear you. >> so it will not interfere again, unless good intentioned people of iran --

>> the world is reacting to millions of people on the streets of iran demanding their rights. this is not a concocted under the radar conspiracy deal of some government to try to provoke unrest in the country. let's look at the facts as they develop. there were many outside who said they would rather speak to the status quo, we have to worry about the vote and this and that. additionally, they were disturbed about the fact that something could be changing in iran and they have no choice but to support it. to support it.

>> they chose to overlook for the sake of political expediency or economic interest. are they going to come and take a position that demands for those who are paranoid about foreign interference in our country's affairs, i think perhaps this is the first time that the demand of the norman and woman on the street, not even talking about officials in any system, people on the street are asking for the world to intervene. this is the first time ever in

iranian modern history, and i have no confusion on that subject. >> thank you very much. are there any more questions? i see nobody at the microphone. if not i want to repeat we have the room till 11:30 and available for one-on one- >> ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much, and again -- [applause] >> again, if i may, thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much. [applause] >> again, if i may, on behalf of many who have specifically asked me to tell you from the four corners of iran, from a who will, from a seminary group in another area, from students in another, from factory workers, they have all asked me, among other things, to tell you the members of the media, how much they appreciate your attention

on the iranian cause and also some of them in a more audacious way, it's about time. thank you very much. thank you very much. [applause] >> now to today's white house briefing with press secretary robert g i.b.b. s. topics include this morning's announcement of a plan to cover medicare prescription drug costs, ongoing unrest in iran and healthcare legislation making its way through crest. congress. congress. this is just under an hour. >> i'll make a quick statement on something that the first lady will speak about later this afternoon. today the administration is kicking off president obama's summer service initiative,

"united we serve," a call to all americans to join a volunteer effort to be part of building a new foundation for america, one community at a time. united we serve officially starts today and runs through the national day of service and remembrance on september 11th. the president is calling on all americans to participate in projects focusing on four key areas where people can have an impact in their communities, energy, healthcare, education and community renewal. the president and first lady are calling on all americans to visit corporation for national community services's web site, www.serve important governor to find service projects to mark the kickoff, the first lady as well 19 cabinet secretaries and senior administration officials are fanned out across the country to participate in a wide variety of service projects to mark this occasion. with that.

>> on the medicare prescription drug subject, is there some glitch in that agreement or are negotiations still going on? is that why -- >> well, would i direct you to the finance committee. i think as they say, the story you wrote, they are still continuing to work through some of the details on that, but again, today's event was focused on -- i would point you to talking to ken who you have already talked to and to the finance committee. but again, i think it's -- >> can't you speak about it? >> the legislation that's being written up on capitol hill, i do think that, though, again, today represented the endorsement of this broad agreement by the largest group representing seniors in this country to make good not simply on helping seniors that fall into that

coverage gap after part d ends and before catastrophic coverage kicks in, but also to make good on several of the ideas that the president has outlined over the past several weeks in order to make healthcare more efficient. >> just quickly, could you be more clear than you have been about whether the president does, though, occasionally -- >> i have not probed any deeper than the statements that i have given you all in the past several days, that as he has told me, it's something that he continues to struggle with as somebody like millions of americans have. , yes, sir? >> robert, a question again on iran. two, actually. first of all, iran has accused the u.s. and other western countries of meddling in its responses or with the comments

that have come out about the demonstrations. how do you respond to that because the administration has been very clear that's exactly what you don't want. >> no, i mean, i think the president has been crystal clear, jeff, in consistent in laying out for the international community the concerns that we had surrounding the election and the universal principles with which we believe people can and should be able to stand up, to speak out, to have freedom of speech, to have the freedom to assemble and demonstrate without fear of harm. that has been what he has consistently laid out and i think if you look at the statements over the weekend, i think the president continued to watch the situation evolve in

iran about speak out forcibly on behalf of justice and to warn the government against -- continue to warn the government against the use of violence. >> okay. and on a separate foreign policy issue, the president referred to north korea in an interview this weekend. can you give us an update on that and how worried do people in hawaii about a potential -- >> jeff, i can assure you and anybody listening, anybody in hawaii or anybody in the united states that the government is taking every precaution necessary to deal with threats throughout the world or threats that might be coming from the north koreans. that is obviously the president's first task is to keep the american people safe and i can assure you that steps are -- have been and are being taken to make sure that is the case.

look, in terms of the north koreans, i'm not sure that -- i'm not sure we're a whole lot different than we were in the past few days or past few weeks. the north koreans continue to make statements bellicose statements, threatening different actions many times, what they threaten they eventually do and that further alien natures north korea from the rest of the world and i think that has helped the world take unified action, strong steps to ensure that we are taking all necessary action to ensure that there is not the ability for north korea to export weapons or export material that would lead to proliferation. that's been our focus. >> the president said when he was asked in the interview, taking contingencies does not

mean a military response necessarily. but what -- how else can one understand that? what else could "contingencies"mean? >> what the previous referred to by taking all necessary steps to deal with whatever threat comes out on the north korea. >> what does that mean? >> what does that mean? i think i'd refer you to what secretary gates said last week about moving different systems out into the pacific in order to ensure the protection of the united states of america. i'm speaking more about the sort of outer edge of the united states. >> in the face of poll numbers indicating the american people have increasing concerns about some of the policies of the administration and democratic senators such as dianne feinstein saying she doesn't think right now the votes are there and the democratic caucus

for healthcare reform bill and what does the president plan on doing to firm up more public port and more support among democrats on capitol hill for his healthcare plan and for other plans? >> well, i think the president will continue to speak every day about the issues that he believes are fundamental to us laying a foundation for continued economic growth. obviously throughout the week the president is going to talk about the importance of cutting costs for families and small businesses as it relates to healthcare reform. i think we have seen progress over the past many weeks on getting comprehensive energy legislation take steps to get that through congress, to deal with lessening our dependence on foreign oil, and ensuring that we are taking steps to change the way education is delivered, and obviously to take steps to improve our economy.

that is through both the recovery act, through financial regulation, and i think all four of those things are what encompass the president's time and i think you'll see events throughout the week here at the white house on many of those topics. >> does the president feel that, does the white house feel, there needs to be more of a public campaign, that the american people need to be -- >> people saying we're overposed. [laughter] >> does there need to be more of a campaign outside the white house? you brought back campaign letters today escaping the notice of nobody in this room for the first time. does he feel like he needs to go out and storm the country? >> no, i don't think we need to storm the country. i think the president will continue to use the opportunities that he has at the white house and on the road to talk about what he thinks will make america safer and stronger, ensuring that we get healthcare reform, and i think if you step

back and look at some of the significance of today's events, you've got the pharmaceutical industry and the largest group representing seniors in this country who 16 years ago weren't at the table but were on the other side of the political debate, and i think that represents progress and important steps towards real reform. i would say -- i'm saying we have made progress on comprehensive energy legislation and i think slowly but surely we're working to turn this economy around. >> one last thing. has the president had a personal reaction to the images of violence coming out of iran this weekend? >> i think he has -- throughout the course of friday, saturday and sunday, i think he has been moved by what we have seen on television. i think particularly so by images of women in iran who have

stood up for the right to demonstrate, to speak out and to be heard. >> the young woman who was eventually killed by a -- >> i don't know if he's seen that particular image. i know he has obviously watched some coverage of the events this week and has been struck by the passion. >> follow up on jennifer's question on smoking. why haven't you probed the president on his smoking habits? >> it hasn't crossed my mind. >> seems to me like today would have been a good explanation point at the end to say i had this habit and i kicked the habit. if in fact that's what he's done. >> i think that anybody that -- i'm not a smoker, i don't -- probably just one vice i don't have -- i think that the president has on any number of occasions discussed the struggle

that the vice of smoking, what that has done to him and that he struggles with it every day. i don't honestly see the need to get a whole lot more specific about than the fact it's a continuing struggle. >> on iran last week the white house was trying to send a message out there's no pressure at all from what's going on on capitol hill, no external pressure, to respond in a more forceful way. but i notice that statement over the weekend seemed tougher than the usual language from the white house. can you say that the white house feels no pressure at all to change its current policy in terms of how it is responding? >> is he correct, though? there's a perception that the president has ratcheted up -- you said his statements have been crystal clear and consistent but there's a perception among pundits and

others, whomever, that there's a perception -- >> far be it from me to conduct that foreign policy based on pundits we see on television. where has that gotten us. [laughter] >> wait, we're asking the questions here! [laughter] >> i think i'm answering them fairly well today. sure, why not. i'm a pundit, i'm doing great. let me tell you, let me -- i think -- i knew the answer almost before you asked it. like i said, i'm a pundit, i'm grading myself pretty well today. chip, this isn't about -- i think you've heard the president say this is not about a foreign policy that makes us feel good. this is not about statements that might make us feel good or sound good on television. this is -- i understand -- but this is -- >> ratchet up to increase the

pressure? >> i think obviously you have seen events, i think anybody would say events on the ground have changed over the course of the last week. the president last monday warned against the potential for violence and we have seen that. we've seen it escalate throughout the week but, again, chip, this is about ensuring as the president said that he is speaking out for the universal principles, he said that last week, but, chip, there are many in iran that would love us to be the story, as the president said and i have said, they would love to take this debate that is happening within iran by iranians about the direction of their leadership and instead take that out and put us in. the president has said he

recognizes that, he understands that is not helpful and i think quite honestly, chip, many of the experts that many people in this room, their organizations have talked to, many republicans have noted the president has struck the right response here. that's what is important here. >> if i can follow up on jennifer's question, you said she should call ken johnson and she did that, she did an excellent job. >> now who's grading whom. [laughter] right, well, she's going to let you do the first question, huh? >> there are lots of discussions going on, lot of moving pieces, lot of elements that have not been finalized. why would they even do this if a lot of elements have not been finalized? was it a slow day and they needed to fill a hole? don't you usually wait till you

get an agreement? >> i guess if jennifer didn't get the answer to that, i would say that question seems directed toward them and i would encourage you to -- >> you know the answer to it, don't you? >> i know they are continuing to work on aspects of the agreement, an agreement they felt comfortable enough to talk about, an agreement that the largest seniors group felt comfortable enough endorsing. >> the president has used the word "justice" when talking about iran. when right now the administration doesn't feel like the protesters are receiving justice. is that correct? >> i'm sorry? >> the protesters, he has used the word "justice" and apparently it is a in this case words a matter of a specific choice of words that you are using, not just words apparently. if you could say, so the president -- does the president believe justice has not been served yet in iran?

correct? >> if you watch the images that are on television screens and are written about -- and the principles the president laid out, i think that's clear. justice has not been achieved, absolutely. >> justice is not achieved, does the administration believe this regime should be held accountable somewhat? >> i think this is precisely the argument i'm making. i think they are being held accountable in many ways. you are seeing that accountability on the street, each and every day, in tehran. >> what about in relationship to the rest of the world snm. >> i think if you asked anybody, they would say that iran -- their image has suffered greatly in the images that you see on television. i don't think that that is anything that would ultimately come as a surprise. >> what is this going to mean down the road? is this about sanctions? is this about sitting down and being treated, you know, as

somebody that we are negotiating with? >> i think obviously, again, the president has talked about the principles and obviously those are being violated. i think that it's hard for me to get into what's going to go down the road based on what ultimately happens here, obviously as i've noted our long-term security interests as it relates to the support of terrorism and their pursuit of a nuclear weapon haven't changed but our focus right now is not on that. >> another topic. the supreme court made a ruling on the voting rights act. does the president have a comment about the fact the court expressed serious concerns about the constitutionality of the voting rights act? >> i don't want to get into -- i have not gotten a specific

reaction from the president or from counsel on their interpretation of the ruling yet. >> when will you -- >> when they have had a chance to interpret, i will. >> is there a particular issue or issues that help the president decide to have a press conference tomorrow? >> the yearning to speak with you all on an intimate basis. >> give us a hint of what his opening message will be. >> in many of your cases, to boast sunscreen sales. i think the president will use the occasion again to discuss the progress that he believes the country needs to make on laying that foundation for long-term growth. i think you'll hear him talk about the costs, skyrocketing costs of healthcare, use examples of why it's important as you have seen him do on events on the road, i think the

president will talk about progress that we have made and is being made on energy independence, legislation going through congress and i anticipate he'll also have comments on what we're seeing in iran. >> one more thing. yesterday on cnn, dianne feinstein suggested that an expansion of medicaid, all the healthcare bills on capitol hill, would break her state and that she doubted that she -- that the president even had the votes right now. is there any give to be had on the idea of covering some or a large proportion of the 44 million uninsured by expanding medicaid? >> look, i mean, i think as it relates to california, one thing to bear in mind is the recovery act has provided over $3 billion in increased medicaid payments to just to the state of

california as they have struggled with their budget but i don't -- it's not up to me to sort of negotiate one way or the other on that aspect of the bill right now. >> robert, is it the president's belief that the results of the election in iran are fraudulent? >> i think he continues to, as the administration does, to have concerns and questions. as many in the international community do, about how that election was conducted. >> does the administration want a do-over of the election? >> well, again, mark, this is something that the president has said we did not have on the ground international observers, this is something that is playing out right now in the streets of iran.

>> on tobacco, he said that there's more to be done on the issue. what does he have in mind? >> well, look, i think continuing -- i think obviously we have obviously each and every day, look, i don't -- let me put it this way. obviously this is landmark legislation that is more than a decade in the making that takes some serious action on marketing, on trying to keep thousands and thousands of children every day from starting a habit that will greatly impact their health on the out years and i think obviously continuing to make progress, obviously the pitch for prevention and wellness are a big part of healthcare reform because many of those long-term costs, the

taxpayers pay on the back end. there is more progress on those issues to be made. >> he does not advocate a ban? >> not that i'm aware of, no. >> on the medicare agreement, can you spell out exactly how much of that $80 billion will go towards the doughnut hole versus how much will go toward -- >> i don't have those figures. i can see if we have any more information on that. >> would this -- the president's press conference tomorrow, healthcare event wednesday night, is the president trying to take more control of the debate? >> look, i think obviously this is a big priority for the president and i think it's something that he'll continue to work through and talk about in laying this as i have said repeatedly today laying the foundation for long-term economic growth. the president believes these are extremely important issues and the opportunity to talk to you

all and talk to the american people about them is important. >> is he trying to -- >> i think the town hall meeting, you all knew about it last week, and in all honesty the press conference has been on our blocked schedule for several weeks. >> robert, what was unjust about the iranian regime's actions that the president felt it necessary to note on saturday? what specifically led him to use those words? what is unjust about what has been happening? >> i think you have seen over the course of many days obviously, and you saw this on -- you've seen violence ratchet up, you've also seen pretty red-line statements friday, saturday, even