Mike Jones kisses Ted Haggard and tells

[eridani]

If freeper relatives are always sending you Limbaugh crap, send them one of these.

http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid45165.asp

As the sun rose in the early-morning sky on November 1, 2006, Mike Jones sat quietly in his apartment, staring at the telephone. He was at the same time reluctant and eager, knowing that his life was about to change. Picking up the receiver before the second ring, he took a deep breath and was patched through as the guest on a local drive-time FM radio talk show. Jones, a gay escort from Denver, was about to break the cardinal rule of his profession--he was going public with the identity of a client.

The ink is still drying on the pages of the latest offering from Manhattan-based Seven Stories Press. In I Had to Say Something: The Art of Ted Haggard's Fall, Jones recounts, with the help of biographer Sam Gallegos, how his decision to speak out just before the midterm elections catapulted him into the public eye, changing his life and, perhaps, the face of national politics.

Within days of Jones's revelation, which dominated the national media cycle, Haggard disappeared from public life. He resigned from his role as the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, came under investigation by his Colorado Springs–based megachurch, and checked in to an Arizona facility for "restoration" to address what he termed his "repulsive and dark" desires.

Most people will skim through this book to find the lurid details of Haggard's secret sex life; a rapid flip-through of the more titillating highlights must include pages 8, 113, and 174. Jones offers, however, much more. His narrative is personal and reads like a friend confiding cherished memories and deep personal introspection over an afternoon cup of coffee. He covers career, family, and hopes for the future. Jones is polite and intuitive, and above all, observant. These skills proved just as important in his work as physique, technique, and sexual versatility did.