Merger of Obama campaigners, party urged

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Advisers to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama are urging a merger between his successful campaign and the National Democratic Committee, observers say.

With Obama moving from campaigning to governing, some close to him urge that the potent band of supporters be kept at the ready to help him with a legislative agenda over the next four years, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Others, however, see a possible unraveling of the usual grassroots activity if blended with the vast, electronically linked network of activists and volunteers who raised record amounts of money and propelled Obama to the White House, the newspaper said.

Traditionally, the new president would blend his campaign operation with his party's national committee. But, the Obama machinery is seen as featuring 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 party's national committee.

The challenge of converting, as the Times puts it, an insurgency into a standing army, reportedly has caused discord among advisers who had no public disagreements throughout the long campaign.