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Here are two articles that go into some detail about Senator Obama's "community organizer" background:

Obama’s Account of New York Years Often Differs From What Others Say (New York Times)

Barack Obama's unlikely political education. (The New Republic)

I didn't realize that he was such a student of Alinsky that he actually taught others on the subject:

Obama's self-conception as an organizer isn't just a campaign gimmick. Organizing remained central to Obama long after his stint on the South Side. In the 13 years between Obama's return to Chicago from law school and his Senate campaign, he was deeply involved with the city's constellation of community-organizing groups. He wrote about the subject. He attended organizing seminars. He served on the boards of foundations that support community organizing. He taught Alinsky's concepts and methods in workshops. When he first ran for office in 1996, he pledged to bring the spirit of community organizing to his job in the state Senate. And, after he was elected to the U.S. Senate, his wife, Michelle, told a reporter, "Barack is not a politician first and foremost. He's a community activist exploring the viability of politics to make change." Recalling her remark in 2005, Obama wrote, "I take that observation as a compliment."
By defining himself as a "community organizer" above all else, Obama is linking himself to America's radical democratic tradition and presenting himself as an heir to a particular political style and methodology that, at least superficially, contrasts sharply with the candidate Obama has become.

(Above is from the New Republic article, with my emphasis added).

I would be unsurprised if Senator Obama gets McGovern-like numbers in the general election.

I don't think that there is a lot to appeal to anyone who is not on the extreme left-wing; while the Democrat party clearly has such a wing active in this electoral season, I don't think that it is going to be much of a factor in the general election.