According to Politico White House press pooler Carrie Budoff Brown, the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Virgina minutes ago was felt on the Martha’s Vineyard golf course where President Obama was playing when it hit. Meanwhile, Media Matters‘ Oliver Willis observes that the conservative media are already pointlessly pointing out that the President was on vacation when the quake hit, tweeting “Conservatives Can’t Decide If Obama Was Too Busy Golfing Or Biking To Stop The #Earthquake.”

During Wednesday morning’s edition of Fox & Friends, co-anchor Brian Kilmeade offered compelling evidence that the pro-union protesters in Wisconsin are swimming against the tide of popular sentiment, in the form of a Gallup poll which Fox claimed showed 61% of Wisconsonians favor restricting collective bargaining rights. The actual poll says the opposite. (h/t Media Matters)

In a bit of wise timing, Pittsburgh rapper  Jasiri X has just released a rap video, based on a Tim Wise essay, that imagines “What if the Tea Party Was Black?” Amid a war of words between the NAACP and the Tea Party, and the racially-charged hype surrounding the New Black Panther Party, the host of This Week with Jasiri X may have found the perfect storm for viral video success. Who knows? Maybe this will inspire other flights of fancy, like “What if the President was White?” (h/t Oliver Willis)

Much has been written on this site about the despicable comments of Pat Robertson (who said that the Haiti earthquake was the result of a pact with Satan) and Rush Limbaugh (who, among other things, urged his listeners not to donate to relief efforts), both of which came up at today’s White House press briefing. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ responses were properly calibrated to the importance of these men at a time such as this.

As the carnage in Haiti rightly dominates the news, the seeming cliche´ that this “puts it all in perspective” really can’t be made enough. The horrified shame that Rachel Maddow displayed at the idea that the Haitian ambassador might think that Pat Robertson speaks for all Americans was remarkable. A smaller such moment, on last night’s Countdown, spoke volumes about the triviality of the current political media.

When Rush Limbaugh was hospitalized with chest pains, his fate uncertain, Rachel Maddow, myself, and many others urged transcendence of partisan rancor as a naturally decent response. Now, barely 2 weeks later, Limbaugh is using the heartrending tragedy of the Haitian earthquake to score points against President Obama, and even urges people not to donate to the relief effort. This is shockingly low, even for Limbaugh.