The Obama campaign raised the bar for web outreach today with an email announcing a streamed Barack coffee klatch live from Iowa on March 31st. The style stands in contrast to Hillary Clinton’s fireside chat-inspired “conversations,” and is a much shrewder use of the internet. It’s not a new idea, but it’s a good one. Improved streaming technology and more broadband subscribers than four years ago make it even better.

Naturally, the webcast will be interactive, with conference call uplinks from the concurrent house parties that will be organized around the country between now and then. How many that is will be a good organizational baseline test for the campaign.

Organizing in NH and IA is essential and, in this case, will bring people – potential supporters – to actual parties with living, breathing Obama supporters in attendance.

The Hillary model has us sitting at home watching her alone, perhaps feeling as alienated as ever, if not more so. The Obama-cast will bring people togeether -- the subtext of his campaign's positioning statement: Hope. Action. Change.

I'd be remiss here if I failed to point out that “HAC” is a most unfortunate acronym to use in a political context, but that aside, street level politics is all about lists and tasks and esprit de corps. Without that it’s not a grassroots political campaign, it’s an advertising campaign.

The Obama-cast may not be a Memorex moment, but it will be as close as many viewers get to a rock-star candidate like him. And for those who are comfortable with the culture and technology of social networking (say, 80% of Obama supporters?), a face and a voice you can communicate with in real time may be close enough to the real thing. Besides, the real thing gets more virtual all the time.

I’ve spent the last 30+ years listening and talking to presidential candidates in informal settings – living rooms, street corners, men’s rooms – and there’s nothing quite like trapping one of these jamokes between the breakfast nook and the china cabinet when he’s armed only with his wits.

But it’s not like that anymore. Back in the day there weren’t many, if any, TV cameras at most of these events. WMUR, the local ABC affiliate might show up now and then, but not often. Now, every backyard meet-and-greet is designed for TV. The people – the voters – are props and backdrops. While that may be the nature of 21st century media, we don’t have to like it, or accept it. For me, the intimacy of a "coffee" is drastically reduced when I'm standing cheek to cheek with Carl Cameron and Cokey Roberts as a 2-million candlepower klieg light over my left shoulder slowly melts my Gore-Tex jacket.

I know this sounds crazy, but maybe a virtual house party sans media, where there’s an opportunity to meet like-minded people and share ideas without being ordered to stand somewhere else by a hyper-caffeinated TV producer, is preferable to seeing the candidate in the flesh.