Billy Dee Williams says, "Step away from the minister..."

We are now tracking how many Sundays Obama attends church. No, seriously:

President-elect Barack Obama has yet to attend church services since winning the White House earlier this month, a departure from the example of his two immediate predecessors.

On the three Sundays since his election, Obama has instead used his free time to get in workouts at a Chicago gym.

Asked about the president-elect's decision to not attend church, a transition aide noted that the Obamas valued their faith experience in Chicago but were concerned about the impact their large retinue may have on other parishioners.

Here's Judis on this alarming trend:

This is the kind of reporting one would expect from the Christian Broadcast Network, whose editors and reporters presumably view less than weekly religious observance as an offense against God, and as a sign of moral depravity in a public official, but why is this presumably secular publication making such a big deal about it? I regard as an invasion of Obama's privacy.

Or at least just incredibly, incredibly trivial. I get that these guys, in the wake of Wright, are waiting to see what sort of church Obama will join. But, come on...

UPDATE: Here's Ben Smith responding to Judis:

If nothing else, the tone of the responses reflect how defensive the left still is on faith. The Media Matters post was four times longer than my item, and I don't really think that a single story and a blog item constitute "such a big deal."

Of course that isn't really a defense, as much as it's ad hominem. The item was, essentially, gossip. Forgive folks for expecting a little more.