i used to ask my father, my immigrant father, why he came to longcountry -- coming that distance in the early 1930's with my mother. why would you travel? he said we wanted our children to have a better life. we always felt it was the american dream. i have had the honor of living that dream as the son of italian immigrants. for having the first chance in to family's history of going college, then service in the army, then going back as a legislative assistant to a u.s. senator, and all of the other career positions i have held. institute isat the kind of a history of some of those periods in my life. the secretary of defense presentation. it shows a lot of my visits to the troops around the world. of,of the things i am proud this picture of the president was a picture of those that were involved in eliminating don't ask don't tell. of the a picture president looking at me when i andthe state of the union saying "good job." that picks itc up. they said, what did the president mean? indicate it was because we had completed a mission of rescuing a hostage in the middle east, and they had