[dd74]

Personally, I feel for Haggard. He seems to have done more good for his followers than ill by this single incident.

I'll even take it one step further by adding Haggard should not have resigned and those investigating him should not have released Haggard from his post. So he's gay. So what?

He never condemed homosexuality from what I've read/heard about Haggard. Sure, he somewhat misrepresented himself; at least to his wife, but that's a personal affair.

Who's really despicable in this is Mike Jones, the gay prostitute who brought their relationship to light. The guy is a horrible human for ruining this man's life, and doing so over the political issue of gay marriage.

The press is equally at blame here: they love the downfall of someone of Haggard's position, but are derelict as to the story behind the story. Why don't they dig a little into Jones' past and find, for example:

1) What made him really "out" Haggard? Profit? Notoriety?

2) Did Jones feel sleighted because he himself wanted to be part of a gay marriage, and felt threatened by Haggard?

IMO, Jones did the gay population a huge disservice as Haggard was also an outspoken proponent of gay rights under the Constitution, as well as stem cell research, which is a rare find in the world of evangelical pastors.