Hardly two weeks have elapsed since Pat Robertson, of The 700 Club, made headlines for the unusual bit of theodicy with which he sought to justify the earthquake that routed Port-au-Prince. Yesterday, Robertson was again in the news, in an article on the denouement of the murder trial of Scott Roeder for the assassination of Dr. George R. Tiller, that Roeder claimed Robertson’s show spurred him to take up arms against abortionists.

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.

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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.

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Adding to Shep Smith’s disgusted reaction to Robertson yesterday is Rachel Maddow, who last night called Robertson “the unintended consequence of your First Amendment.” And you know what? She’s right. Though somehow less frightening in the face of Twitter.