Vast Obama network becomes a political football

Los Angeles Times by Peter Wallsten, Tom Hamburger | Nov. 14, 2008 (Special Report)

Some Obama advisors want to blend his campaign operation with the Democratic National Committee. Others worry that such a move could cause the grass-roots organization to unravel.

The Obama machinery relied heavily on idealistic political outsiders committed to breaking free from old ways of doing politics. The worry is that these enthusiastic activists might drift away if they are turned over to the Democratic National Committee, where the party might ask them to support Democrats and target Republicans. Full Story »

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Related Comments: Obama Administration (3)

4.3

by Matt Collette - Nov. 22, 2008

This article offers a good look into the perils that come with melding government with politics. A good use of a variety of sources, with just not identified by name, moves the story from a gossipy Washington trend story to a smart look at what our nation's capital might look like for the next 4 to 8 years.

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3.7

by Kristin Gorski - Nov. 14, 2008

This article is very accurate in describing the tenor of many Obama volunteers' support: it is for Obama and definitely not for party-politics-as-usual, which some may see the DNC as. It could definitely go into more depth: how about interviewing some of these idealist, young, 20-something Obama supporters to round out the story?

I interviewed many of these young, idealist, new-to-politics Obama supporters for articles I wrote about this election season. Each one embraced Obama for highly personal reasons, and they supported him as a person and a leader they wanted -- I don't see these folks easily forming such an immediate, personal connection with a political organization. Perhaps the older Obama supporters, used to the political process and many election cycles, will, but the youth story here is much more complicated.

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