Obama irked by Iraq flap

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) - Sen. Barack Obama, speaking on board his campaign plane as it headed to St. Louis on Saturday, continued to defend his position on Iraq - and questioned reporters' parsing of his words.

Obama said he was startled "at how finely calibrated every single word was measured" after his Iraq statements Thursday. "I am surprised at how ... the press ... I'm not trying to dump on you guys, but I'm surprised at how finely calibrated every single word was measured," he said.

"I wasn't saying anything that I hadn't said before. That I didn't say a year ago. Or when I was a U.S. senator. If you look at our position, it's been very consistent. The notion that we have to get out carefully has been a consistent position," he said, adding, "The belief that we have a national security interest in making sure Iraq is secure, I've been saying consistently." –From CNN's Ed Hornick and Chris Welch