Rush Limbaugh Sees Red Over Obama's Response to Haiti Earthquake

(Jan. 13) – In the wake of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, television evangelist Pat Robertson took to the airwaves to provide the hidden explanation for the rubble of Port-au-Prince.

On "The 700 Club," Robertson laid historical blame at the feet of the Haitian people, stating, "They were under the heel of the French ... and they got together and swore a pact with the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.' "

Robertson's theory on a little-known alliance with Satan did not sit well with Raymond Joseph, the Haitian Ambassador to the United States, who countered with a history lesson of his own.

"I would like the whole world to know, America especially, that [because of] the independence of Haiti, when the slaves rose up against the French, and defeated the French army, a powerful army, the U.S. was able to gain the Louisiana Territory for $15 million dollars," Joseph told Rachel Maddow, adding, "The revolt of the rebels in Haiti allowed Latin America to be free."

White House advisor Valerie Jarrett simply said she was "speechless" over Robertson's remarks.

Like Robertson, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh also made waves with his analysis of the crisis in Haiti, taking aim at President Barack Obama for pledging aid to the ravaged nation so quickly.

On his Jan. 13 radio show, Limbaugh vented to listeners that Obama – who was on winter holiday in Hawaii when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried but failed to bring down a U.S. airliner – took three days to address the nation on that subject. In contrast, and much to Limbaugh's ire, the president's remarks on the devastation in Haiti came just one day following the tragedy there.

In the same program, Limbaugh suggested that Obama was happy for the quake in Haiti, as his administration will "use this to burnish their, shall we say, credibility with the black community, in the ... the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It's made to order for them."

Fellow conservative pundit Pat Buchanan called out Limbaugh for his remarks, stating, "They are deeply insensitive. The president speaks for the whole country when he says we're going in there. You want your whole nation, and it's very positive. And I think Rush's comments were cynical."