Local paper reporting….

Update: First obituaries coming in…McClatchy….

Admire him or revile him, the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s role in American history will reverberate long past his death Tuesday at the age of 73.

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His legacy and shadow are sure to come up in the GOP debate tonight. Here’s a flashback on McCain and Falwell. Here’s Falwell on Giuliani. And Falwell and Romney.

An RNS survey looks at the changing face of evangelical leaders.

The Huffington Post seems to have closed their comments section on the story. Wisely.

Allah tracking the condolences and condemnation here.

The glee is unbridled elsewhere.

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Marc Ambinder at National Journal:

In recent years, the media overstated Falwell’s power considerably, but his influence is undeniable, and has, for years, exceeded his power. Still, the movement he founded lost some of its original coherence. The Moral Majority doesn’t exist — it has matured into a dozen different organizations. The Christian Coalition is a shell of its former self. Some Republicans question their arrangement with the leading lights of the Christian Right; conservative Christians are asserting their independence. But such are the signs of a mature political movement. That tonight’s debate will focus, fairly or unfairly, on one candidate’s position on abortion — that’s a testament to Falwell’s legacy.

Hotline also has incoming reax from GOP candidates.