if obconf 1.6 gets compiled from source (http://tr.openmonkey.com/files/obconf/obconf-1.6.tar.gz) the program works and prints no errors. if you use the ebuild for installation you can't use the buttons anymore. (i suppose the patch causes these problems)
sorry, i was quite confused. the problem still exists but only in the 1.5 version (which is gentoo stable at the moment). the 1.6 version in gentoo-unstable is working properly. i suppose its not worth to fix it