keybindings stop working on empty desktop

[John Russell]

I have noticed that if I C-A-<dir> switch to a desktop with nothing on
it, save for my two gnome panels which are always there, then there is a
very good chance that all keybindings in openbox will stop responding. 
I can't start apps with keybindings, or move off the desktop to another
one, or anything.  Everything continues to work fine and I can start
apps from the gnome-panel menu, but no keybindings of any kind.  

The only way out is to use the desktop viewer on the panel to move to a
desktop with some window on it, or to click on the panel itself, which
seems to help.  In my unprofessional opinion, its almost as if openbox
gets confused when _nothing_ has focus.  

Another point...I am also not using any desktop (icons and things) of
any kind.   Nautilus makes me itch so I stopped it from rendering my
desktop.  I use gnome to set the background image but that's it.  If
nautilus is doing the desktop, then I don't see this behavior.   

I thought I'd bring this up here before logging a bug in case someone
knows what's going on.  Thanks.

John