I'm not one to cry "the sky is falling" every time the media puts out a negative story about a Democrat.

But it is worrisome that Barack Obama needed two press conferences today to clarify his position on Iraq. Here's the AP version:

Arriving in Fargo, Obama hastily called a news conference to discuss news of a sixth straight month of nationwide job losses, but the questioning turned to Iraq policy and his impending trip there.

"I am going to do a thorough assessment when I'm there," he said. "I'm sure I'll have more information and continue to refine my policy."

He left the impression that his talks with military commanders there could refine his promise to remove U.S. combat troops within 16 months of taking office.

Less than four hours later, after the town hall meeting, Obama appeared before reporters for another statement and round of questions to "try this again."

"Apparently I was not clear enough this morning," he said. He blamed any confusion on the McCain campaign, which he said had "primed the pump with the press" to suggest "we were changing our policy when we haven't."

"I have said throughout this campaign that this war was ill-conceived, that it was a strategic blunder and that it needs to come to an end," he said. "I have also said I would be deliberate and careful about how we get out. That position has not changed. I am not searching for maneuvering room with respect to that position."

He promised to summon the Joint Chiefs of Staff on his first day in office "and I will give them a new mission and that is to end this war, responsibly and deliberately, but decisively."

He said that when he talked earlier about refining his policy after talking with commanders in Iraq, he was referring not to his 16-month timeline, but to how many troops may need to remain in Iraq to train the local army and police and what troop presence might be needed "`to be sure al-Qaida doesn't re-establish a foothold there."

"I will bring our troops out at a pace of one two brigades a month" which would mean the United States would be totally out of Iraq in 16 months. "That is what I intend to do as president of the United States."

But later in the session, he said it is possible the 16-month timeline could slip if the pace of withdrawal needs to be slowed some months to ensure troop safety. "I have always said ... I would always reserve the right to do what's best," Obama said.

For those of us who have paid close attention to Obama's position on Iraq, everything he said today is consistent with what he has said in the past.

Obama's plan has always been to remove 1-2 combat brigades per month over 16 months, with events on the ground dictating the precise pace of removal.

And Obama always planned to leave a "residual force" of non-combat trainers numbering as many as 60,000.

That's why many progressives supported the candidates who wanted to bring all our troops home immediately - Dennis Kucinich and Bill Richardson.

Nevertheless, Republicans jumped all over Obama's remarks today, insisting he flip-flopped on Iraq, just as he did on wiretapping.

I hope Obama understands the powerful dynamic that's at work: when he flip-flops on one issue, Republicans and their Corporate Media allies will try to portray every policy "clarification" as another flip-flop, so they can paint him as another John Kerry.

The Corporate Media doesn't care that John McCain holds the Guiness World Record in flip-flops, including Bush's tax cuts, immigration, torture, and off-shore drilling.

The only solution is for Obama to abandon nuance and stake out clear positions that contrast as sharply as possible with the disastrous - and massively unpopular - policies of both George Bush and John McCain.

This shouldn't be hard to do, but it's not Obama's style - he prefers careful nuance to bold declarations. Unfortunately, 24-hour cable news simply doesn't allow for nuance in a Presidential campaign.

Update 1: Josh Marshall blows the whistle on reporters who fall for GOP propaganda that Obama has embraced the failed Bush-McCain strategy on Iraq:

The simple truth is that this campaign offers a very clear cut choice on Iraq. One candidate believes that the US occupation of Iraq is the solution; the other thinks it's the problem. John McCain supports the permanent deployment of US troops in Iraq. That is why his hundred years remark isn't some gotcha line. It's a clear statement of his policy. Obama supports a deliberate and orderly withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. It's a completely different view of America's role in the world and future in the Middle East. Reporters who can't grasp what Obama is saying seem simply to have been permanently befuddled by George W. Bush's game-playing over delegating policy to commanders.

True - but they are also buying the narrative that Obama is flip-flopping on key progressive issues to move to the "center," which is a narrative that Obama himself fed by flip-flopping on wiretap immunity.