Ted Haggard: "We want to answer questions." So why won't he?

Ted Haggard, the evangelical preacher who was revealed to have been conducting a homosexual affair - and treating himself to a little methamphetamine on the side - at the same time that he was appearing in movie theaters railing against homosexuality in the documentary "Jesus Camp," is the subject of the upcoming HBO documentary, "The Trials of Ted Haggard." The film, charting his fall from grace and subsequent struggles after being ousted from his Colorado church and post as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, premieres Jan. 29.

Haggard and his family appeared Friday afternoon at TV Press Tour. "We were unable to answer questions for two years, and now that we have the freedom to answer questions, we want to answer questions," he declared. "That's what we want to do."

And from there, he offered up some copious mea culpa's, though what he was apologizing for, it seems, was a little vague: Being gay? Getting caught? Being a hypocrite? Being intolerant?

"I do think that the people who did not show us (respect) were just," he said.

"I don't preach to others now. ... If people hate me I understand that," he said.

"I made the wrong decision - I thought I could've dealt with that area of my life myself. ... I should've resigned my position way earlier than I did. I should've been way opener with my family than I was and the community," he said.

"I now know more about hatred than I ever knew. Jesus said, 'Love one another and forgive one another.' I know a lot more about the power of forgiveness and I know a lot more about the necessity of people not judging one another," he said.

"I am not happy with where I am right now. I'm just further along than I was two years ago ... and in two years, I'll be further along than I am today," he said.

"It taught me how desperately I need help from God," he said.

"I'm much more compassionate, much more understanding in my life," he said.

But what Haggard dodged was kind of the key point of the saga: whether he still considered homosexuality an abomination before God. Asked, "Do gay people have to change?", he responded, "All people are in equally desperate need of redemption, compassion, forgiveness, those things."

Asked if a person has "improved" if he or she "changes" from gay to straight, he replied, "That's up to you." The precise purpose of his therapy remained elusive.

His daughter Christy came closest to acknowledging the nexus between her father's hypocrisy in championing intolerance and subsequent decrying of the repercussions of his own actions. "We were more judgmental than we are now," she said. "A lot of people were hurt. A lot of people deserve an apology from our family."

As critics continued to attempt to crowbar some clarity from Haggard's vagaries, HBO executive Sheila Nevin interjected: "May I suggest that we answer this question privately outside?"

Vociferously, the crowd responded: "No!" It may have been the most spirited press moment at the tour thusfar.

"This process has made me a better man than I've ever been, and I don't want to talk about it anymore," Haggard said. So much for answering questions.