海角大神

At Beau Biden鈥檚 memorial service on Thursday, Delaware House Speaker Peter Schwartzkopf talked about the time Beau Biden dropped into his office to give him a hug.

Mr. Biden said that was the only reason for his visit, according to state Representative Schwartzkopf. He didn鈥檛 have anything more serious on his mind. The Delaware lawmaker was his friend, and he didn鈥檛 get to see him that much. He missed him.

Now Biden, once Delaware鈥檚 attorney general and a favorite for the state鈥檚 2016 gubernatorial election, is gone. A state mourns. A family mourns.

鈥淭his week, we鈥檙e all part of Joe Biden鈥檚 family,鈥� Schwartzkopf said Thursday at a brief public service before Biden lay in state in Delaware鈥檚 state capitol building, Legislative Hall.

Think everything in politics is cheap partisanship? Think politicians are lower than loan sharks, con men, or reporters?

Think again. The outpouring of affection for Vice President Joe Biden鈥檚 late son shows that public servants can still touch voters鈥� hearts.

Hundreds of ordinary Delawareans stood in line to file past Biden鈥檚 casket and pay respects in a viewing ceremony that lasted beyond four hours. It was the first such ceremony held in Legislative Hall since it opened in 1933, .

Yes, Delaware is a blue state, so Biden didn鈥檛 have to deal with a partisan divide during his too-short political career. He was the son of the second-highest ranking politician in America. But as the Monitor鈥檚 Linda Feldmann wrote earlier this week, Biden represented some of the best impulses of American politics. He did not always take the easiest path, the road most conducive to his career.

In 2008, for instance, Biden could have just been appointed to his dad鈥檚 old Senate seat, after the Obama/Biden ticket won the presidential election. He opted to remain attorney general, saying he had important work to finish up, and ran for reelection in 2010. One item on his agenda: the tough prosecution of pediatrician Earl Bradley, who in 2011 was convicted of rape and abuse of more than 100 children.

鈥淎s adults, we have a legal and moral obligation to stand up and speak out for children who are being abused 鈥� they cannot speak for themselves,鈥� wrote Biden at the time.

A major in the Delaware National Guard, the younger Biden was serving in Iraq at the time of his father鈥檚 inauguration. He traveled back to D.C. for the ceremony, and then returned to his unit.

Many of those who waited in line to pay their respects on Thursday were current or former members of the military.

His first name, 鈥淏eau,鈥� was all it took to identify him to many First State residents.

One bit of evidence of the extent of Biden鈥檚 appeal is the flood of donations into the new Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children. It鈥檚 raised about $125,000 in two days, according to the Delaware Community Foundation, which oversees the new charity.

The foundation has received about 600 individual donations so far, an impressive rate given the circumstances, according to Community Foundation chief Fred Sears.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really overwhelming,鈥� Mr. Sears, a Biden family friend, .

Biden鈥檚 memorial ceremonies continue Friday, with a public wake and more viewings in Wilmington. On Saturday, President Obama is expected to deliver the eulogy at Beau Biden鈥檚 funeral mass.