10:26AM -- Asked whether Birnbaum resigned, Obama said he learned today of her resignation, but didn't know the full story. He said his directive to Salazar was that he only wanted the best people in charge of drilling oversight and regulation, suggesting that it was an issue of effectiveness. He also accepted responsibility for not having moved even faster on fixing MMS.
10:33AM -- On the question of how much oil was spewing, President Obama said the initial estimates were based on satellite imagery which he acknowledged led to an underestimate of the oil flow. He accused BP of not being "forthcoming" with respect to releasing video of the spill from under the sea, video which would have enabled researchers to develop more accurate estimates earlier on. Obama said the administration pushed BP to release the video, which they ultimately did, though he agreed that it took too long. He also said that since they were planning for the worst case scenario, it didn't impact response operations to not know how much oil was flowing.
10:34AM -- Helen Thomas wants to know why we're in Afghanistan still. I imagine she still has the same question -- as do many others.
10:38AM -- Finally a question about the fundamental issue: our dependence on foreign oil. President Obama's argument: We can't continue to rely on oil. Oil won't meet our needs. We need alternative energy, but it will take time to make the transition, and during that time, he says we're going to continue using oil, and that it makes sense to include domestic oil production as part of the mix. He says his basic view on that is unchanged. However, he also conceded that he was wrong in believing that the oil industry was prepared to deal with the safety issues involved with deepwater drilling.
10:40AM -- Asked again about the MMS director resignation, President Obama said he was unfamiliar with the details because it just happened this morning.
10:42AM -- This transcript isn't 100% accurate, but it's pretty close to accurage, on President Obama explaining his view that oil is not the long-term answer, even though it is a short-term reality: "Extraction is going to be more expensive...You've never heard me say drill baby drill...We can't drill our way out of the problem. it may be part of the mix...but the easily accessible oil has already been sucked out of the ground. as we move forward the technology is more complicated, the oil is more remote...and that means more risk....we're going to have to start moving on the transition [to a clean energy economy]."
10:47AM -- Asked about immigration reform, Obama says the time is now for immigration reform. On the question of the 1,200 National Guardspersons going to Arizona, he said sending them there will help deal with border issues, but that he doesn't believe they will solve the larger immigration issue. He wants an "orderly, fair, humane immigration framework."
10:48AM -- Twice now, he's made reference to telling Senate Republicans he needs them to get their act together to pass urgent legislation, particularly energy reform and immigration reform.
10:53AM -- Final question: Major Garrett asks a pair of dumb ones, first about Sestak (which Obama said the admin would address separately, though nothing is wrong) and then whether he is comfortable with Salazar's use of Rand Paul's "boot on the neck" formulation to describe the governments approach towards BP. Obama said he understands the anger and that "not a day goes by where the Federal government isn't think about how do we minimize the damage on this and close this thing down." He ended with: "It's my job to get this fixed...It's my responsibility, it's my job...it doesn't mean it's going to be easy, it doesn't mean it will happen right away." But he says it's on him.