obama had arrived in the senate and then quietly encourage obama to run for the democratic nomination for president at a time when most democratic leaders were rallying behind hillary clinton because he saw potential in obama. you know, reid was a fierce partisan. he fought for the democratic party. he loved nothing more than getting in mitch mcconnell s way and blocking republicans but he did so not merely to amass power but to enact historical change and historians will remember the work he did in the first two years of the obama presidency as transformational. the affordable care act, economic stimulus, dodd/frank returns on wall street. don t ask don t tell being revoked as policy at the military and we could go on. it was quite a record of achievement and a lot of former colleagues in the senate are missing him tonight. he was on this network, very ill in the end, but on this