No one wins with Haggard's firing

The board overseeing the Rev. Ted Haggard's Colorado Springs church did its job Saturday by firing him, citing "sexually immoral conduct" in connection with his relationship with a male prostitute. Haggard may indeed have not had an affair with Mike Jones, but the overseers had an obligation to get rid of Haggard. Sadly, the revelations rendered Haggard unable to lead the church again, even if he had been exonerated. The board said it found evidence of an affair, something Haggard strongly denied, even while admitting he bought drugs from Jones.

No one wins here. And no one should celebrate the ouster of this key Christian leader, as deserved as it proved to be. To be sure, some pundits hostile to Haggard's public message will delight in his downfall. This is what happens when a high-profile Christian stumbles.

They'll point fingers and cry hypocrisy. It's predictable coming from a society that chooses to ignore the fact that Christian leaders have failings not much different than most of us. It's their job to remain strong in the face of attacks, but they still succumb to temptation.

Now that Haggard is gone, perhaps the healing can begin. My guess is his detractors will not let the outspoken critic of gay marriage forget this sordid episode -- at least until after Tuesday's election. There's a marriage amendment vote in Colorado. This may not be enough for the amendment's opponents to prevail, but it certainly gives them momentum the gay-marriage opponents would love to have heading to the polls on election day.