A couple of items from last night's Faith Forum debate with Obama and Clinton. I'll try to avoid the "bitter" bandwagon that rolls along. But Mark Silk at Spiritual Politics points to a couple of interesting takeaways, one fromHillary's newser that day regarding a question on the church she attends, or not:

Asking aboutthe last time she fired a gun or attended church services "is not a relevant question in this debate over Barack Obamas recent comments on small town Americans. We can answer that some other time.

Now is not a bad time, say I.Free-range spirituality is easier than churchgoing when you're in public life.The other is Silk's take on Clinton stating that her favorite character in the Bible is Queen Esther:

That strikes me as a rather revealing model for the woman who would be president. Unlike, say, Deborah (the prophetess and only female judge in pre-monarchic Israel), Esther achieved her position of power and influence as the result of her role as royal spouse: the King of Persia chooses her to replace the queen who would not dance for his guests. Think about that.

UPDATE: Dan Burke of RNS (who did the"Is Bush Catholic" piece) has an interview with Hillary Clinton and tries to pin her down on the Methodist Church's upcoming debate (redux) on gay clergy. Hillary punts, probably wisely.

Q: Your church, the United Methodist Church, is getting ready to

meet later this month. One of the issues they will address is whether to

allow gay and lesbian clergy. Would you like to see gay and lesbian

clergy who are in committed same-sex relationships in the United

Methodist Church?

A: I really have not been able to focus on what the church will be

debating at its upcoming conference, and it's obviously a very difficult

decision and I am going to wait and follow and watch and not express an

opinion or assert my views into the process.

Q: So do you have an opinion on gay clergy?

A: I just want to follow the debate. I have not had time to think

through all the points that will be made and want to give a chance for

the conference to have a full and thorough debate on the matter.