Subject: Takeaway from the Third Way Poll
From: "Rachel Kleinfeld" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:31:37 -0400 (EDT)

We wanted to make sure you saw the Third Way/GQRR polling[http://www.thirdway.org/publications/505] that just came out.  The take-away is that Obama has an incredibly strong standing on national security -- and we think our work has much to do with that.  We have:
  Placed 120 people in this administration, including speechwriters who tout the administrations accomplishments, policy leaders who help make them happen, and veterans who can spread our message far and wide 

  Staffed the entire Veterans for Obama operation, thereby helping the campaign make inroads with veterans and influence the narrative on the President's national security accomplishments 
 Brought the traits highlighted here -- strength, decisiveness, and a commitment to serve -- more solidly into the progressive rhetoric 

Third Way/GQRR's polling also shows that while Obama is doing well on national security, the broader Democratic party is still viewed as weak. This year, the political establishment is realizing the importance of strengthening its knowledge of and ability to communicate on national security and is turning to Truman to help them learn.  In the last year, we have:
 Trained 15 state party directors in how to reach out to veterans and military famillies -- a constituency that makes up a full 1/3 of the voting population of many states 
 Held one-on-one training and strategy sessions with the top 25 DCCC Red-to-Blue congressional candidates and trained every Democratic House challenger on values-based solutions to national security issues 
 Built a political partners program that brings together of the best political operatives from around the country 
 Trained dozens of state parties and organizations on national security and strategic communications 
 Started a policy and messaging series to help candidates and political leaders address the most crucial security challenges this year. 
 Trained dozens of state parties and organizations on national security and strategic communications and worked with local to federal candidates across the country to develop Veterans and Military Families Councils and to provide guidance and outreach for their campaigns 
We are also about to release our 2012 National Security Briefing Book, the go-to resource guide for elected officials, their staff, and candidates around the country, as well as a set of Innovative Ideas for a New Congress, which are meant to give candidates a well-thought out national security platform that they can implement once elected.  We can certainly claim some of the credit for how Obama is now seen on security - and we are doing all we can now to communicate this message to the rest of the progressive movement. 
 
Conservatives have been spent decades branding progressives as weak on national security.  We know that we can't change this overnight, but it reinforces our commitment to our mission to know that our hard work is paying off and that we are making headway on it. 
  
We are truly grateful for all you've done to help us get to this point.  We've got a lot of work ahead of us, but with your continued support we can remain on this path and reclaim the smart, strong, and principled approach to national security that will help keep America and the world safe. 

All my best,

 
Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld
President and CEO
 
P.S.  You can read the full report here[http://www.thirdway.org/publications/505].
 
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