Rachel Kleinfeld
Born and raised in a log cabin in Alaska, Kleinfeld, 34, started workshops for young progressives on national-security issues after watching John Kerry lose to George W. Bush in 2004. Her goal: to prove that Democrats can articulate strong and sensible alternatives to GOP defense policies.
Who is your political hero/inspiration?
Harry Truman, of course. He had a lot of common sense. He spoke plainly and clearly to the American people, but that did not mean he lacked vision. And he showed an enormous amount of creativity in how to keep the world safe.
What's your go-to political blog?
The Economist blogs
If you weren't working in politics, what would you be doing?
Realistically or fun? I would either doing development work in Indonesia or I'd be hosting an interesting and thoughtful radio talk show.
What's the most overlooked issue facing America these days?
Although it's getting some attention, cyber-security needs to be getting a lot more. The level of devastation that a cyber-attack can cause is just withering to contemplate, and we have very little resources devoted to this right now.
Where do you see yourself professionally in five years?
I would love for Truman Democrats to be as loud a voice in foreign policy as any major political movement, so I would say running a major political movement that affects the foreign policy of the nation.