internationally his wisdom and capacity to build relationships has faced the nation's response to counterterrorism, the falling of the berlin wall, the iron curtain, iraq, afghanistan. for the past eight years he could not have been a more devoted or effective partner in the progress that we've made. he fought to make college more affordable and revitalize american manufacturing as the head of our middle class task force. he suited up for our cancer moon shot, giving hope to millions of americans touched by this disease, he led our efforts to combat gun violence. and he rooted out any possible misappropriations that might have occurred. as a consequence the recovery act worked as well as just about any large-scale stimulus project has worked in the country.