Reporters feel jilted by President Obama

The White House's James S. Brady Press Briefing Room has turned into a regular skirmish zone, not just on specifics like the scuttled C-SPAN/healthcare promise but on the larger suspicion by the media that the "change" president has settled into the same cloak-and-swagger habits as some of his predecessors.

It's an age-old dance -- reporters push for information, even some they know they'll never receive. Politicians push back -- with descriptions of how much they've done and all the reasons they can't do more. Tension between the press and the Obama administration has peaked in part because of the candidate's bold promises about being more open. As the president's popularity has declined, some reporters have sensed the already reserved leader pulling back even more. President Obama hasn't held a full-fledged news conference in half a year. One press-freedom advocate -- saying Obama has been more talk than action -- gave the president a C-plus on freedom of information issues.