Barack Obama shares letter he wrote to Harry Reid before his death

The death of former Nevada Senator and Democratic heavyweight Harry Reid has led to an outpouring of support on social media — including from his longtime colleague and friend, former President Barack Obama.  Harry,

In an Instagram post, Mr. Obama revealed that Reid's wife, Landra Reid, had asked him and others to write letters to her husband when Reid's battle with pancreatic cancer became too great. Mr. Obama said he was sharing the letter he penned in lieu of a formal statement on the former senator's passing.  I got the news that the health situation has taken a rough turn, and that it's hard to talk on the phone. Which, let's face it, is not that big of a change cause you never liked to talk on the phone anyway!

"As different as we are, I think we both saw something of ourselves in each other — a couple of outsiders who had defied the odds and knew how to take a punch and cared about the little guy. And you know what, we made for a pretty good team," Mr. Obama wrote in his letter.      Here's what I want you to know. You were a great leader in the Senate, and early on you were more generous to me than I had any right to expect. I wouldn't have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support, and I wouldn't have got most of what I got done without your skill and determination.