And now, the flip side of Making the Grade.

From Elkhart to Ottawa to Leno to London and back to Washington, D.C. - President Barack Obama has been on the move during his first 100 days in office.  This milestone is personal because it also celebrates my first 100 days of unemployment.

At the start, it was definitely a honeymoon in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.  The rosy coverage from the campaign had seeped into the West Wing and found its way into the papers we read, radio stations we listen to and television news we watch.  Andrea Mitchell was discussing Obama’s trip to Baghdad and the generous reception given to the commander-in-chief by troops stationed there.  She said, “every commander-in-chief gets a warm reception, but this, this was something special.”

Need I say more?

Team Obama was cognizant of the fact that the press was treating them warmly, but unless they ratcheted up their offensive as well, the honeymoon could end abruptly.  Within the first week, Obama made the rounds over the briefing room, visiting the television and wire booths, although evading questions about troubled Cabinet nominees.  It wasn’t time for policy questions, it was a friendly visit, we were told.

Then for the first few trips aboard Air Force One, Obama sauntered to the rear of the plane to visit the business class seats of the press cabin, always full with that day’s traveling pool, to discuss what was going on in the world.  It was a marked difference from the previous administration where President George W. Bush rarely went to the back to visit the press during flights, instead choosing to stay up front and work on speeches, make telephone calls and meet with staff while we were 30,000 feet up.

These two moves especially helped keep the goodwill flowing, and were clearly reflected in the stories that we saw.

Then, things started to turn south.

In his first primetime press conference as President of the United States, Obama called on some non-traditional members of the White House press corps.  He followed that up in his second prime time appearance, the next month, by calling on Univision, Stars & Stripes and Ebony Magazine.  Each chosen outlet represented a specific political purpose, but it upset reporters that were used to getting questions at these events like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and most of the radio outlets such as CBS Radio and AP Radio.

I applauded this move for the fact that they were calling on and engaging niche outlets in the conversation, and using the advantage the Obama team had in knowing what types of questions they would get. 

The communications team tried to employ a Clinton-era tool of cycling through reporters and outlets on a list.  This week Group A gets questions, next week Group B gets questions.  In the Oval Office during his meeting with the King of Jordan, Obama at first refused to call on Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press because she “gets too many questions.”  The press get too many questions?

All of this has put the communications team off their typical A game.  Gibbs has been pounded at the podium, Emanuel and Obama have contradicted each other on the interrogation memos, and communications director Ellen Moran is departing just a few months in for another job in the Administration and to “spend more time with family” we’re told - always the worst answer you can give to the “why are they leaving?” question.

Messages have been muddled, as my friend Alex Conant points out at www.alexconant.com.  In a story by Politico’s Mike Allen, Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs is giddy about the fact that this White House has thrown conventional communications plans out the window to focus on a whole host of issues at a time rather than a message of the day or week or month like previous occupants have. 

While I have applauded this theory specifically when it comes to outreach to niche news organizations in my Indianapolis Star op-ed (http://tiny.cc/indystarpete), there is a delicate balance to this juggling act.  You can discuss a number of priorities in a disciplined way, or you can over saturate the coverage to the point where it cannot be effectively distilled into a single narrative.

Look at the coverage of the first 100 days.  Do they focus on the economy?  Foreign policy?  Education?  Health care?  Iraq? Afghanistan?  What??

The White House communications types probably view this as a victory.  The media is forced to look at every facet of the first 100 days and the fact that Obama promised to tackle big issues while in office, and at a quick clip at that.   It shows that Obama is not a one-track-minded president able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

Then, of course, there is what’s always been my pet peeve about White House coverage - the fluff.  You can gather more reporters at events when sports teams visit than you can for major policy announcements.  Just look at the zoo of reporters that swarmed the South Lawn to see the “debut” of Bo.  As many reporters said, “I’m embarrassed for us.”

Whatever your view - and keeping in mind the study that was released yesterday - the first 50 days of stories were rather rosy.  But I think the White House press corps has regained its traction and turned their baseball bats to their favorite pinata in Robert Gibbs.  He has been beat up pretty badly over the $100 million and swine flu in the past week or so.

The honeymoon is over.