Surely Senator Barack Obama knew the run of flattering press stories he'd been receiving would come to an end at some point, but he might have hoped it would last longer than it has.

In a big feature on Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reported a number of apparent discrepancies with Mr. Obama's childhood recollections as recounted in his first memoir, "Dreams From My Father" -- most notably one involving a Life magazine article detailing a black man's efforts lighten his skin that Mr. Obama says left a permanent mark on his racial consciousness but archivists now say never appeared in the magazine.

On Tuesday the Drudge Report highlighted a story from The Politico that said "rookie mistakes" were "plaguing" the Obama campaign. The following day a similar article appeared in Mr. Obama's hometown paper, the Chicago Sun-Times, under the headline "Obama's Gaffes Start to Pile Up." That same afternoon Wolf Blitzer on CNN, in between segments of an interview with Mr. Obama, quizzed his in-studio panelists whether or not the Obama campaign has "flatlined."

As bad as that question might sound for Mr. Obama, it's perfectly legitimate if you look at the numbers. During the last three weeks of February, Mr. Obama rose nearly seven full points in the national RealClearPolitics Average, reaching 24.4% by March 1. Four weeks later, Mr. Obama finishes the month at 23.4%.

The next big challenge facing Mr. Obama's campaign will come early next month after the candidates file their fundraising numbers for the first quarter of 2007. Campaign watchers expect Hillary Clinton to shatter fundraising records on the Democratic side, but the key question is whether Mr. Obama will be able to keep pace. If he falls below expectations, it will set off another spurt of media stories questioning his chances of beating Mrs. Clinton. If he posts a strong number, however, it will break the current spell of unfavorable press surrounding his campaign and could perhaps be the start of a second honeymoon.