Obama: Media response to Iraq remarks overblown

He hopes to draw more support from evangelical Christian voters than is typical for Democratic presidential candidates. Analysts are skeptical he can do that because of his support for abortion, gay rights and other issues.

And Obama was perplexed that his statement on Iraq was dissected as it was.

"I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement," he said. "I am absolutely committed to ending the war."

On Thursday in North Dakota, Obama said that "I'll ... continue to refine my policy" on Iraq after an upcoming trip there. With a promise to end the war the central premise of his candidacy, the Obama campaign has struggled over the past two days to push back against Republicans and others who say his recent statement could be a softening or change in policy.

Obama has always said his promise to end the war would require consultations with military commanders and, possibly, flexibility.

"The tactics of how we ensure our troops are safe as we pull out, how we execute the withdrawal, those are things that are all based on facts and conditions," he said. "I am not somebody--unlike George Bush--who is willing to ignore facts on the basis of my preconceived notions."

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said Obama needs to "understand that his words matter."

"We are all absolutely committed to ending this war, but on Thursday Barack Obama's words indicated that he also shared John McCains commitment to securing the peace beforehand," he said.

The Illinois senator also said he and rival-turned-ally Hillary Rodham Clinton plan to raise money together in a series of fundraisers in New York during the coming week.

Two events are scheduled for Wednesday night--one for his campaign and one to help Clinton pay off debts from her primary race against him. A third, for Obama, is a cash-collecting breakfast Thursday morning with women.