No clear winner or loser emerged from the Democratic gubernatorial debate on Face to Face with Jon Ralston, taped this morning. (The program airs in two parts, the first today and the second on Monday. Our thanks to the kind folks at Face to Face for the invitation to cover it live.)

But there were some good exchanges between state Sen. Dina Titus and Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, who are vying for the chance to face the Republican nominee.

Although Titus produced ethics laws she’d introduced dating to 1991, Gibson said her “12-step” ethics program demonstrated a brand-new interest in ethics, constituted “politics,” and added “I think it’s just a pattern that Sen. Titus follows … it’s one of political expediency.”

Titus stuck to her guns, however, and program host Jon Ralston got Gibson to admit that he even agreed with a couple of Titus’ suggestions.

Although the subtle and not-so-subtle jabs continued throughout the entire hour, Gibson had one of the best, responding to Titus’ remark that ethics are what you learn in Sunday school. “I attended Sunday school, too. Still do,” Gibson said. “And I don’t need Dina Titus to tell me what’s right and wrong.”

Titus got her licks in, too, reminding viewers of Gibson’s participating in the “Reagan youth,” attending President George W. Bush’s inaugural and donating money to U.S. Rep. Jon Porter, a longtime friend of Gibson’s. (Gibson did say he’s supporting Democrat Tessa Hafen this year, although nobody asked why he hadn’t bothered to back former Park Place chief Tom Gallagher in 2004.

Unfortunately, against that backdrop, Gibson defended himself against one Titus crack by saying “there you go again, Sen. Titus.” He was, of course, quoting Ronald Reagan.

Ralston replayed the now-infamous Gibson quote on abortion (also uttered on his show) in order to solicit the mayor into promising that he will not propose any changes to current abortion law, and that he would never criminalize abortion. (Not “proposing” a change, however, is far different than signing a bill restricting abortion that somebody else has proposed.)

We at Various Things & Stuff still think that Gibson’s quote — in which he said he’s never going to put himself in a position where things he really believes would be at odds with what he’d enact as governor — has implications beyond abortion. What are those things that he really believes? And should they form the basis of a government? That quote opens the door to the question, and the Titus campaign has yet to highlight that issue.

As for abortion, Titus said she thinks there’s a good chance the landmark Roe v. Wade decision could be overturned, which means states would have to rule on abortion questions.

Oh, by the way: You can find out all about Titus’ 12-step plan here. And to learn about Gibson’s signature APPLE program, click here.

• Which job is cooler: Speaker of the Assembly, or chief of police for the city of Henderson? You could ask Richard Perkins today, since he holds both positions simultaneously.

(For our money, it’s top cop. Not only do you get four stars for your collar, you get to carry a gun, drive a car with red-and-blue lights that gets you out of waiting in traffic, and you can also pull over a-holes like the one we encountered this morning, lazily letting his Honda drift into the lane occupied by our Honda. Damn, where is Chief Perkins when you need him?)

Perkins surprised many when he dropped out of the race for governor, leaving Titus and Gibson to fight it out. Had he run, he’d surely have hung up his badge by now.

Oh, and all that stuff about the Hatch Act, which prevents federal employees or employees of local governments that get federal funds from engaging in partisan political activity? It should be no problem, assuming Perkins doesn’t engage in any partisan political activity between now and the expiry of his term in the Assembly, which comes in January 2007.

• The health nazis, using “the children” as human shields, are at it again. And that reminds us of a question we’ve been wanting to ask: What is taking Carson City District Court Judge Bill Maddox so damn long to decide whether the so-called “Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act” is flawed, as a coalition of convenience stores and other businesses contend? He’s had the court papers for months. What’s the holdup, your honor?