Political reporters are supposed to use every tool at their disposal to make their stories complete. For many of the people who cover the candidate most closely, getting a representative view of voters' opinions -- a view that is separate from polls, grittier and more nuanced -- is becoming increasingly difficult these days. With fewer events, but just as much hopscotching from town to town and state to state, the chance for meaningful contact with individual voters diminishes, for reporters and candidates alike.

Last week in Barack Obama's busy schedule saw a major policy speech in Flint, Mich., followed by Al Gore's endorsement rally in Detroit. There was a small town hall with community college students, then it was on to Washington for meetings and fundraisers, to Chicago for a meeting with Democratic governors and finally to Florida for a fundraiser and a speech to a mayors' conference. The transition to a jet-setting, nationwide campaign -- and the increasing insularity of the bubble surrounding the traveling press corps -- gave confirmation, if any were needed, that the race has moved from the retail politicking of the primary season to the big game of the general election.

Obama's latest move irked editorial boards, but most observers believe voters don't care about campaign financing.

Perhaps the biggest news of the week was Obama's decision to forgo public financing in the general election despite previously pledging to pursue an agreement with John McCain to participate in the system should he become the nominee. The Illinois senator argued the public financing system was broken because of the undue influence of 527s and the political parties, which are able to raise large amounts of money from undisclosed special interests and lobbyists.

"That amount of money last election cycle dwarfed some of the money that was spent within the system," Obama told reporters at a press conference in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday afternoon. He went on to say that 90 percent of contributions to his campaign came from small donors, and that he did not take donations from PACs or lobbyists and had imposed the same rules on the DNC. He said a large proportion of donations to McCain's campaign, in contrast, came from special interests and lobbyists.

"I don't think that's a recipe for reform," he said. "I am a sponsor of a public financing bill that can strengthen the system, because I recognize not every presidential candidate may be able to do the same things that we've done in this campaign. And so my commitment to fixing the system remains, but in this campaign, it's my belief that in fact what we've built is something that frees ourselves from special interests and allows us to run an effective campaign as well."

The news irked editorial boards, but most observers believe voters don't care about campaign financing.

And it's the voters, of course, whose opinions matter most in this contest. Talking to them is something reporters trapped in the campaign bubble will have to make an extra effort to do over the coming months.

Keeping The Media At Arm's Length

Events in recent days suggest we're witnessing the beginning of a slow, not-yet-steady thawing of the icy attitude Obama sometimes exhibits toward reporters -- even those who cover him most closely, the ones who sit at the back of his plane and trail his motorcade through city after city.

For weeks, the senator has been making quips about these reporters -- "They make my blood boil," was his line at a St. Louis hospital earlier this month. He has often hinted at his disdain for scribes who he feels want to lasso him with "gotcha" questions that represent little more than cheap political shots and serve to obscure issues of concern to voters.

But this week reporters saw him saunter to the back of the plane on at least three occasions, only one of which was a formal press conference. That doesn't mean the senator -- no lover of small talk -- will soon be perched in the posterior booths playing cards and cracking jokes with reporters; the forays have been jovial but brief, and he is always accompanied by aides. Still, this kind of thing has been far from common in recent weeks, and aides suggest we may see more of it.

Is this a calculated response to stories like the one published in the New York Times last week about a campaign that is attempting to take greater control of Obama's image? Or is it an attempt to replicate the good will that McCain has engendered with some reporters for his willingness to engage the press? Will this be a brief experiment, or will it continue? And who stands to benefit most from this new paradigm, provided it is permanent?

Those of us on the bus will be searching for those answers.