Obama campaign manager David Plouffe sends an email to supporters promising an unprecedented national operation in the general election:

People like you have been the heart of Chairman Howard Dean's 50-state strategy to rebuild our party and empower Democrats to compete everywhere. We've all seen the energy and enthusiasm at the grassroots level impact races up and down the ballot over the last three years.

I am proud to announce that our presidential campaign will be the first in a generation to deploy and maintain staff in every single state...

Of course, some states will be more competitive than others, and we will scale our resources accordingly.

To some degree the promise of a 50-state strategy in a presidential campaign is a bit of a platitude, since as Plouffe himself suggests, the real clue to the Obama camp's view of the electoral map will be which states get real money invested in them.

But as Ben Smith notes, this is a powerful symbolic move that Obama can well afford. And it puts the Obama team solidly in sync with the DNC as remade by Dean. While some folks scoffed at Dean's efforts, there's no denying that they may have enabled recent Dem victories in red states like Mississippi and Lousiana.

So whatever the impact of Obama's 50-state strategy on the presidential race, anyone scoffing at the Obama camp's insistence that his grassroots organization in red states will lift down-ticket Dems -- and hence is good for Dems overall -- does so at his or her peril. Full Plouffe email after the jump.

Dear XXXX,

I have some news that I wanted you to hear.

People like you have been the heart of Chairman Howard Dean's 50-state strategy to rebuild our party and empower Democrats to compete everywhere. We've all seen the energy and enthusiasm at the grassroots level impact races up and down the ballot over the last three years.

I am proud to announce that our presidential campaign will be the first in a generation to deploy and maintain staff in every single state.

The network of volunteers and the infrastructure built up during the historic primary season -- on behalf of all the Democratic campaigns -- have given us an enormous and unprecedented opportunity in the general election.

Now it's time to expand our network and push our organizing resources even further. No matter where you live, our success this November will depend on your involvement. Sign up to join our campaign now, and we'll make sure you're aware of all the latest news and opportunities to make a difference:

Of course, some states will be more competitive than others, and we will scale our resources accordingly.

But your work building our party means that the list of competitive states will be longer than ever before -- and it will include states like Virginia and Montana where your work has helped a Democratic resurgence at the state level.

And in every single state, no matter what the likelihood that we carry it in the fall, our staff will build volunteer capacity that will provide help where we need it and impact races up and down the ballot this November.

Every day counts -- voters head to the polls in less than five months. This is your opportunity to shape this election and our unprecedented 50-state campaign now:

http://my.barackobama.com/getinvolved

Thanks to your support, we are on our way to building an unprecedented organization for the November elections.

As the presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama will fight to unite our party and win contests up and down the ballot.

But he cannot determine the outcome of this election on his own.

It will all come down to what you are willing to do.

It's time to answer the call.

Thank you,
David