ObamaRoots Participation: Success Or Failure?

"It's a bust!"  That's what McClatchy's Franke Greve concludes about Organizing for America's house meetings to generate support for the Obama stimulus package.

Few supporters are answering President Barack Obama's call for nationwide house-party gatherings this weekend to build grass-roots support for his economic stimulus plan.

A McClatchy survey of sign-up rosters for a score of cities across the country revealed only 34 committed attendees in Tacoma, Wash., as of midafternoon Friday; in Fort Worth, Texas, only 54, and in Sacramento, Calif., just 78.

"Before the election, we would have had 500 to 800," said Kim Mack, 46, a Sacramento city-facility manager who's hosted house parties for political figures and causes since the mid-'90s.

I think it's too early to reach that conclusion. More than 30,000 people have submitted questions, according to Organizing for America. They're expecting tens of thousands of people to participate in more than 3,330 meetings. The grassroots activity and pressure is a downstream effect of the meetings themselves, so it's probably not fair to judge the outcome before there really is an outcome.   Online signups don't accurately reflect total interest -- and during the campaign, there were thousands of paid field organizers and volunteers helping to set up meetings and events.  These events -- these 3,330 events -- are totally volunteer generated.  NB: President Obama recorded a video for his supporters.