"Obama seeks effective grassroots support"

United Press International:

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign team is pleased with its solid grassroots support but is wary of a repeat of Howard Dean's spectacular fade in 2004.

The New York Post said Saturday that while the Internet has been successful in turning out crowds, the question remains as to whether that core enthusiasm will lead to the Democratic presidential nomination and an eventual victory on Election Day 2008.

Campaign official Ray Rivera told a sizable crowd in Manhattan this week that Dean also stirred up early support, but it didn't last into the primaries.

"A lot of national momentum, lot of national online support," Rivera said. "Did he win the presidency? No, it sort of faltered. We want to take all this offline and online grassroots energy and turn it into a Democratic nomination and get a real victory."

The Post said Obama and his team have been particularly wary of independent volunteer groups known as 527s that could siphon off financial support from the official campaign, which does the heavy lifting in terms of television and travel.