Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of last Tuesday’s elections was the Fox News exit poll in Virginia declaring, “Veterans and active military split their support evenly between the two candidates”: Obama 49% to Romney 49%. After decades of being viewed as everything from “weak on defense” to “cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys” Democrats today — personified by President Obama — are viewed as at least as strong as their Republican counterparts, even within the military community.

Clearly this was a long journey. From the Vietnam War through the 1970s and 1980s, Democrats were seen as incapable of defending America. They were often depicted in American popular culture as having betrayed the military and prevented our troops from fighting-to-win in Vietnam...

...Over the past four years, President Obama has consistently emphasized the importance of national security and Veterans. He withdrew successfully from Iraq, more than doubled our forces in Afghanistan and prepared the hand-off to Afghan security forces. He didn’t just kill bin Laden, he shattered al Qaeda’s leadership globally...

...In stark contrast to the previous eight years of Republican rule, the Obama administration has improved our national security and upheld the sacred trust it owes our troops. Active duty military, Veterans and their families — along with the rest of America — have taken notice. Virginia holds the nation’s seventh-largest Veteran population and the second-largest active duty military population. Last Tuesday half of those in Virginia who have served in the military voted for the Democratic candidate for president. This isn’t necessarily a permanent re-alignment of the military community’s views of politics. But it clearly is a testament to how President Obama and his administration has fundamentally transformed American perceptions of Democrats, and given them an opening to become the new party of national security.