Obama, who promised repeatedly during his campaign to "turn the page" on past cultural and political divisions, has clearly set out to do precisely that where the military is concerned. He is building on a little-noticed veterans outreach effort launched by Nancy Pelosi before she became House speaker and spearheaded by her former aide Burns Strider. Democrats called attention to shortfalls in programs for veterans in Bush's budgets and built new alliances with veterans organizations.

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