Quote Originally Posted by Lemur
If I'm going to be a good Wisconsinite, I have to know how to milk. That should be obvious.

Hey Don, if I were writing for the general public, or if I were engaged in this issue in any substantial way, I would be much more circumspect in how I addressed the particulars. But in situation after situation this year we've had people resigning, signing into rehab, or needing to spend more time with their families, and the vast majority of them have been found guilty. Some are now in jail.

I understand how the resigning issue feels like dirty pool to you, but it's hard not to take it into account when the "he said/he said" starts up.

Honestly, I feel bad for Haggard and his family. My best guess is that he was deep in the closet, and engaging in risky, self-destructive behavior, which is far from uncommon when people are in denial. And there's something tragic about a closeted gay man who makes anti-homosexual rhetoric a centerpiece of his career. Think Roy Cohn.

The closet = bad.
If there were any possible alternative that Reverend Haggard could take that wouldn't paint him as automatically guilty in your editorializing, I might be willing to allow you the point. But no matter what he does, you're going to use that as ammo that he must be guilty... (and 'you' have become representative of the court of public opinion, no offense to you in particular). If he resigns, he's guilty, because he didn't fight. If he doesn't resign, he must be guilty, because if he was innocent, he would step down until he was cleared (which, is exactly what Pastor Haggard has done, by the way, he didn't outright resign).

All I'm saying is that one of my employees could accuse me of sexual harrassment tomorrow. I could recuse myself of my managerial duties until the case is settled.... according to the court of public opinion, that would be an open admission of guilt. But if I stayed in my role as manager, while the case was going on, the court of public opinion would claim that I was abusing my position and should step aside until the investegation is complete. What can I possibly do to defend myself?