Evangelicals Take Another Hit

This one's going to be hard to explain:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - The leader of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Thursday after being accused of paying for sex with a man in monthly trysts over the past three years.

The Rev. Ted Haggard also stepped aside as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church while a church panel investigates, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."

The investigation came after a 49-year-old man told a Denver radio station that Haggard paid him to have sex.

Haggard, a married father of five, denied the allegations in an interview with KUSA-TV late Wednesday: "Never had a gay relationship with anybody, and I'm steady with my wife, I'm faithful to my wife."

In a written statement, Haggard said: "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."

Gee whiz, this is gonna be a mess. And I'm having a real hard time trying to keep from making a joke about the fact he graduated from Oral Roberts. I hope the other guy's name wasn't "Bob" (nuts, I did it anyway).

UPDATE: Political Wire seems to think that the Haggard story will somehow effect evangelical turnout in the election. I like Political Wire as a site, but that's just nonsense. Evangelicals may be discouraged that a leader has apparently fallen, but it has nothing to do with the election and certainly won't cause anyone to stay home that was previously planning to vote.

Sounds more like wishful thinking on the part of a Dem who knows they can't win unless the GOP base stays home.