A Sadly Symbolic Death

This was a dismaying development to discover this morning:

The Reverend Jerry Falwell, who founded the Moral Majority and built the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University, a school executive said. He was 73. ...

Ron Godwin, the university's executive vice president, said Falwell, 73, was found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but he said Falwell "has a history of heart challenges."

"I had breakfast with him, and he was fine at breakfast," Godwin said. "He went to his office, I went to mine, and they found him unresponsive."

Our condolances go out with those of the Admiral to the Falwell family and friends. Having recently lost my father-in-law, I can speak firsthand of the shock and loss they'll be going through. But at least they can be confident that one day, they will see him again.

I wish I could say that they won't have to endure the undiluted glee of Reverend Falwell's enemies at his passing that will almost certainly be shortly forthcoming. I really hope to be wrong about that, just as I want to believe that the values that he tried to champion (not always perfectly) aren't headed in a precipitously similar direction. But my Cynical-Spidey Sense is already tingling [kudos to Allahpundit for donning the rad suit and hip waders and reeling in the links], and in the big picture as well....