McClatchy Washington Bureau

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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Monday that he'd resign if he were caught in the same kind of scandal as Rep. Anthony Weiner.

"I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign,'' Obama said in an interview with NBC taped while traveling in North Carolina.

"When you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can't serve as effectively as you need to, at the time when people are worrying about jobs, and their mortgages, and paying the bills, then you should probably step back,'' Obama said.

Obama said it was inappropriate for the New York Democrat to send lewd photos of himself to women who are not his wife.

Earlier Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that Weiner acted inappropriately by sending lewd photos to women and by lying about it and that the scandal is a distraction from important business.

But he stopped short of saying that Weiner should resign.

"The president feels, we feel at the White House that this is a distraction," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One as the president traveled to North Carolina. "The behavior was inappropriate; the dishonesty was inappropriate."

Carney said he was unaware of any pressure from White House aides on Weiner to step down.

He brushed aside a question about whether President Barack Obama believes that Weiner should resign.

"I think I answered that question," said Carney, who did not answer it.

"We think this is a distraction obviously from the important business that this President needs to conduct and Congress needs to conduct. Beyond that, I don't have any more comment."

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