Every time a natural disaster strikes, televangelist clown Pat Robertson is there to remind us that God is angry and the End Times are nigh. The recent earthquake and hurricane were no exception:



“It seems to me the Washington Monument is a symbol of America’s power. It has been the symbol of our great nation. We look at the symbol and we say ‘this is one nation under God.’ Now there’s a crack in it Is that a sign from the Lord? You judge. It seems to me symbolic,” Robertson said. He cited Matthew’s Gospel, which mentions an “upheaval in the earth” as a sign of the End of Days. The earthquake is just a “birth pang” of the world to come, Robertson explained … Robertson prayed to God to send Hurricane Irene out to sea at the end of his Thursday broadcast. But if it hits us, it’s probably just another one of those “birth pangs.”

Of course, most people don’t take Robertson seriously. Hurricanes and earthquakes have occurred regularly all over the world since before humankind existed. There was a time when they seemed to be the product of God’s wrath, but geology and meteorology long ago provided much more plausible explanations. Nevertheless, there are still a few wacky cranks like Robertson to say things like this:

Whoops! That wasn’t Pat Robertson ridiculously claiming that God created a (very minor) earthquake and a (relatively unexceptional) hurricane because he was upset about the government’s finances. It was Michele Bachmann. She’s running for president.

Michele Bachmann rally draws over 1,000 in Sarasota, but some prefer Rick Perry [St. Petersburg Times via Political Wire]

Update: According to a Bachmann spokesman, “Obviously she was saying it in jest.”

Obviously! Obviously the woman who thinks God told her to go to law school, run for Congress, and run for president was just joking. Obviously Bachmann would never claim that bad weather was a sign from God:

Finishing her speech, Bachmann offered up a prayer for Iowa, Washington’s debt talks and the president:

“Oh Father God, I thank you that we are privileged to be here this morning in Iowa, one of the most beautiful states I’ve ever been privileged to be in.”

Then, the sky outside thundered, and raindrops pounded on the roof.

“Lord, we hear you, Father, in the thunder,” she continued, eyes closed tightly. “We lift up our president to you today. We lift up the Supreme Court. We lift up the senators. We lift up the house members, Lord, as they grapple with this issue of how they deal with the finances for our nation.”

Related:

God Caught Backing Multiple GOP Candidates for President

After the Storm: New Yorkers’ Videos of Hurricane Irene and Aftermath

Here Comes the Story of the Hurricane: Photos of Irene in New York

Update II: She said this at least a couple of times over the weekend, actually. Here’s some video:

Meanwhile, Politico points out that if Bachmann was joking, it “raise[s] the question of whether it’s appropriate for a presidential candidate and member of Congress to be joking about a major weather event that has already resulted in fatalities and extensive property damage.”