Good Hill Hunting: Church Going and Duck Shooting Become Central Issues in Presidential Campaign

Hillary Clinton appears to be reaping the fruits of a faith-based, hunter-friendly campaign. In the past, Clinton has campaigned hard on her faith in seeking support of religious voters. She has also insisted recently that she is a long-time supporter of hunting and even shot a duck. Now, however, she is being hounded for the last date that she actually went to church or fired a gun. Clinton insists that such questions are no longer “relevant.” My concern is that with the duck-gap with Obama will lead to his shooting a goose, then Hillary shooting a deer, then Obama shooting a rhino . . . It could lead to the largest non-asteroid loss of animals in history.

The account of the Hillary vs. the Duck encounter is also as gripping as the dodging of snipers in Bosnia. For the video, click here.

Clinton describes how she has been a lifetime supporter of gun rights (big in Pennsylvania) and has drawn blood by her own hand:

“I’ve hunted. My father taught me how to hunt. I went duck hunting in Arkansas. I remember standing in that cold water, so cold, at first light. I was with a bunch of my friends, all men. The sun’s up, the ducks are flying and they are playing a trick on me. They said, ‘we’re not going to shoot, you shoot.’ They wanted to embarrass me. The pressure was on. So I shot, and I shot a banded duck and they were surprised as I was,” Clinton said drawing laughter from the crowd.

She is being challenged over the claim of lifetime support for gun rights, click here.

On the church question, the lack of relevance seem to contradict Hillary’s open use of her faith on the campaign — as has both Obama and McCain. For an earlier column on why religious faith has become fair game for reporters in questioning these candidates, click here

For more on the controversy, click here.