Obama Channels Mark Twain At Press Conference: 'Rumors Of My Demise May Be A Little Exaggerated'

President Barack Obama held a press conference at the White House on Tuesday, answering questions on a broad array of items on his legislative agenda that have struggled to gain any momentum in Congress.

Obama was asked about the recent failure of gun-control legislation to pass through the Senate, as well as the fact that sequestration is still in place. ABC reporter Jonathan Karl asked Obama if he was, essentially, a "lame duck" at this early stage of his second term.

"If you put it that way — maybe I should just pack up and go home! As Mark Twain said, rumors of my demise might be a bit exaggerated at this point," Obama said.

Obama also answered questions about the conflict in Syria and the Boston bombings. And he praised NBA player Jason Collins, who on Monday became the first player in a major American sports league to publicly reveal that he is gay.

Check out a full recap of the press conference, question-by-question, below:

Question 1: Obama gets a question on his "red line" on Syria and on survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

"What we've been seeing is a slowly unfolding disaster for the Syrian people," Obama said, repeating that the use of chemical weapons is a "game-changer."

He suggested that the administration needs more evidence on Syria's chemical weapon use in order to decide what type of action to take.

"When I said the use of chemical weapons would be a game-changer, that wasn't a position unique to the United States," Obama said.

When asked a follow-up on whether that would include military action, Obama said that the U.S. would have to "look at the range of options that are available to us."

On Benghazi survivors, Obama said he is "not familiar with this notion that anyone has been blocked from testifying."

Question 2: Obama is asked about the Boston bombings by CNN — and if it means, as some like Sen. Lindsey Graham has suggested, that the U.S. has taken a "step back" on national security.

"No, Mr. Graham is not right, though I'm sure it generated some headlines," he said.

"Based on what I've seen so far, the FBI performed its duties," Obama added. "But this is hard stuff."

He said that one of the challenges the U.S. now faces is the threat of "self-radicalized" individuals like the Tsarnaev brothers.

Obama said that Russia and its leaders have been "very cooperative" with the U.S. since the Boston bombings.

Question 3: Obama gets a question from ABC's Jon Karl, who asks if he "still has the juice to get the rest of your agenda through Congress."

"If you put it that way, Jon," he quipped, "maybe I should just pack up and go home. Golly."

"Rumors of my demise have been a little exaggerated," he said, paraphrasing Mark Twain.

Obama blamed what he called "dysfunction" on Capitol Hill — lamenting, for example, that "even the most modest piece of legislation" needs 60 votes to pass through the Senate.

Obama said that the sequester is harming the economy, and that he has been proven right on the sequester by people who called him "chicken little" because of the recent passage of a bill to fix the mounting flight delays at U.S. airports.

"You seem to suggest that these folks over there have no responsibility, and my job is to get them to behave. That’s their job," he said of Congress.

Question 4: Obama is asked about the growing hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay. He said that it is "not a surprise" that the U.S. has problems at the facility.

"Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe," he said, casting it as expensive, inefficient, and a recruitment tool for terrorist groups.

"We've got to close Guantanamo," he said.

"The idea that we would still maintain forever a group of individuals that have not been tried — that needs to stop."

He pointed to the individuals who planned to bomb Times Square and the so-called "underwear bomber" as examples of "how we prosecute terrorists."

"We can handle this," he said.

Question 5: NBC's Chuck Todd asks about Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) recently calling the implementation of the President's signature health care law a "trainwreck."

"All the implementation issues coming up are implementation issues related to" a narrow group, Obama said. Many people are already experiencing benefits from the law, "even if they don't know it."

He added: "Even if we do everything perfectly, there will still be glitches and bumps."

Question 6: Obama is asked about immigration reform. He said he has been "impressed" by the work of the bipartisan "Gang of 8" in the Senate, though it is not the ideal bill he would have written.

After answering the question, Obama stepped back to the podium to remark on Jason Collins, and said he "couldn't be prouder" of him after Monday's announcement.