Happy Haggard-versary, Ted

Has it been that long? Scandals such as the Larry Craig restroom arrest have all but erased last year's Ted Haggard "affair" from our memory.

A little over a year ago, on November 1st, Mike Jones, a male escort, appeared on a Denver radio talk show and blew the cover (no pun intended) off the Ted Haggard story. According to Jones, Haggard had paid for sex with him on an almost monthly basis over the previous three years.

At the time, Haggard was pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado (he was also its founder) as well as leader of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Of course, Haggard initially denied the allegations. Haggard admitted on November 3, 2006 that he had purchased methamphetamine and received a massage from Jones, but he denied using the drugs or having sex with Jones. "I called him to buy some meth, but I threw it away. I bought it for myself but never used it", Haggard claimed in a television interview, and added, "I was tempted, but I never used it".

Right. That same day, Haggard resigned his leadership of the National Association of Evangelicals. On November 4th, the "Overseer Board of New Life Church" removed him from his job.

Of course, we were not done with Haggard, as in In February of this year, he announced that a three-week "restoration" program had cured him. Indeed, he had "discovered" that he was "completely heterosexual."

This was echoed by one of his counselors, the Rev. Tim Ralph, who said, "He is completely heterosexual. That is something he discovered. It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing."

Right. I think Haggard and Larry Craig need to talk. At any rate, Happy Haggard-versary.