Mark, Meet Ted

Just when I started worrying that the teacup tempest over Kerry's fumbled joke would get the Base out for the GOP, the hypocrites on the Right save my mood with the news that Ted Swaggart Haggard, a powerful and prominent evangelical, has not only been apparently conducting a gay affair for years - he's been paying for the privilege, even as he's worked against gay rights.

It'd be hard (ha!) to avoid find this news on the web rightabout now, but I think Feministe's post is especially good, both for the snark and the context, and Pam at Pandagon has some useful background, such as this brilliant article from Harper's last year.

I almost wish the election was 10 days away, not five, just to see what other scandals might crawl out from under the woodwork.