Then, as if things could not get worse, there was the disgrace of Sheldon's own friend and colleague, Rev. Ted Haggard, the Colorado mega-church leader and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, an even bigger pillar of Republican support on the Christian right. Sheldon disclosed that he and "a lot" of others knew about Haggard's homosexuality "for awhile ... but we weren't sure just how to deal with it."

Months before a male prostitute publicly revealed Haggard's secret relationship with him, and the reverend's drug use as well, "Ted and I had a discussion," explained Sheldon, who said Haggard gave him a telltale signal then: "He said homosexuality is genetic. I said, no it isn't. But I just knew he was covering up. They need to say that."

While it's not really surprising that Haggard's friends would keep his revelations secret, the fact that they kept it secret for so long while allowing him to continue in such a prominent role within their evangelical movement makes them fully complicit in Haggard's hypocrisy.

And it would be interesting to know how much Dobson knew before making statements about "waiting for the full facts to come out."

What is also interesting is Haggard's argument that his homosexuality is genetic.   Sure, he might just be in denial, but if he really does believe that then there may be hope that he can come to terms with and make peace with his sexuality.