Sentence:  No one could <WSD>be</WSD> more devoted than he to the American Congress as an institution and more aware of its historical significance in the political history of the world , and I shall never forget his moving talks , delivered in simple yet eloquent words , upon the meaning of our jobs as Representatives in the operation of representative government and their importance in the context of today 's assault upon popular government . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)