Obama enthusiasts go to camp

ST. LOUIS -- Hello mudda, hello fadda, having fun here at Camp Obama

It's been about 100 degrees here this weekend in muggy St. Louis, so perhaps it's fortunate that the Camp Obama campground was actually a nicely air-conditioned function room in the basement of the Missouri Historical Museum. For the past two days, more than 60 ardent supporters of Barack Obama have huddled here to learn how they can put their passion to use.

It's been more boot camp than summer camp: Yesterday's session was a 12-hour marathon. Participants learned how to canvass. They learned how to raise money by throwing house parties in their neighborhoods. They learned how the Iowa caucus works. They learned how to use the press. They learned how to talk on people's doorsteps about Obama's policy positions.

"You are our base," Patrick Green, a local official who is supporting Obama, told the group. "You are our foot soldiers."

Indeed, a lot is expected from these groups of volunteers, who are being carefully groomed around the country by Obama's campaign. The strength of Obama's grass-roots network has mostly been measured by his many campaign contributors -- nearly 260,000 people through June. But Camp Obama shows that his base of volunteers is big and growing, a force that his campaign hopes will make the difference by the time the primaries begin next year.