OK, the title is slightly misleading--Blitzer didn't know she was an atheist until after he asked, but that's kind of the point--it was an unbelievably inappropriate thing to ask.
I suppose it's better than asking whether she thanked Jesus, but still.
Aside from the presumptive nature of asking her that question, there's also the implied insult that such a statement makes about those who didn't survive. I guess if God was "watching over" the survivors, it means, by definition, that God didn't give a shit about the ones who died, right?
Anyway, the lady in question took it in stride and showed an infinite amount more class and tact than Blitzer did in asking her.
Wolf Blitzer Asks Tornado Survivor If She Thanked the Lord; Tells Him She’s an Atheist
There was a moment of levity in Oklahoma Tuesday when CNN host Wolf Blitzer, concluding an interview with a woman named Rebecca and her 19-month-old son Anders who survived the devastating tornado, asked her if she thanked the Lord for a decision that saved her life.
“I’m actually an atheist,” she replied, laughing.
She added she wouldn’t blame other people for thanking the Lord, though.
Rebecca left the house with Anders before it was destroyed by the tornado. She returned after it hit to see her husband Brian searching the remains of the home for her and their son, leading to a tearful reunion.
Update: Thanks to CS in AZ (among others) for pointing out the most irritating part of the exchange--Blitzer doesn't just make the off-hand "You've gotta thank the lord, right?" comment (which could be chalked up to one of those inane phrases that most of us say every day to random people we encounter, ala "have a nice day"); when she failed to respond, he insisted on following it up with the more intrusive and insistent "DO YOU thank him?"
I was half expecting him to keep going: "DO ya? Huh? Do ya thank him? Huh? Huh? C'mon, do ya? Whatzamatter with you?"
Because perish the thought that she might not thank the lord for this bountiful gift that he's given to her entire community. Or, that is, the community that doesn't exist anymore...