“ . . . Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.” So said Vice-President Joe Biden after the recent death of his oldest son from brain cancer.

Once in a while, even in the power-mad world of politics, genuine goodness breaks through. It appears the Bidens managed to be a family in the best sense of the word—loving each other, putting family before politics, seeing their careers as a way of serving. According to news reports, both the Vice-President and his son graduated from the same Catholic high school. One of Beau Biden’s main concerns in his job as Delaware’s attorney general was going after child sex crime perpetrators.

Some might ask why a seemingly religious family who emphasized commitment and service has seen so much tragedy. Parents of children whose lives are blighted by drugs or other unwise choices might count the Bidens as fortunate.

We are reminded anew that our families and our friends weigh far more than power, money, or careers on the scale of life.