(Jen Psaki, Obama's traveling press secretary, surrounded by reporters amid a debate over ground rules on the plane.)

by John McCormick

MINNEAPOLIS – If a presidential candidate walks down the aisle of his campaign plane, is it on or off the record?

On a flight here this afternoon from Boise, Idaho, a media squabble broke out after Sen. Barack Obama walked down the aisle from his first-class section, a bag of chips in his hand, to say hello to Dan Balz of the Washington Post.

Obama wanted to make some small talk with the veteran political correspondent who is spending a couple days traveling with the Illinois Democrat.

But after a few minutes, other print and wire service reporters seated in the mid-section of the plane started crowding around. It is still a bit of a novelty, since the candidate does not come back to make a lot of chit-chat with the media, something he seems to be trying harder to do in recent days.

Obama stressed that he wanted the conversation to be off the record, but some reporters responded that is not an option, especially when so many other reporters were within earshot.

Soon, people armed cameras and tape recorders started rushing forward from their seats further back. Before the scrum formed, Obama had not said much of news-making proportions.

He said he thinks the Patriots will win the Super Bowl, which he plans to watch at his home in Chicago (he's inviting his Secret Service agents over to enjoy a small party).

Obama also said his stop today was the first time he had ever visited Idaho and that he believes there are now only two states he has not visited: Alaska and North Dakota, both states with nominating contests Tuesday and places where Obama is not scheduled to campaign.

Asked what he thought about his chances on Tuesday, Obama stuck pretty close to his campaign's message: he believes he is gaining ground, voters like him when they see him in person, the clock is rapidly running out before Tuesday, and that Sen. Hillary Clinton should still be considered the "favorite."

But the real conversation broke out after Obama walked away.

First, David Axelrod, Obama's top strategist, walked back to inquire about why some reporters felt they could never go off the record. Then, numerous reporters complained to Obama's traveling press secretary, Jen Psaki, that they had missed the news.

Some reporters said they would never go off the record, while others said it would be fine with them if the candidate wanted to come back and make small talk.

"I think we need to set some ground rules that everyone will be comfortable with," Psaki said.