For those who have missed the news, White House environmental adviser Van Jones announced his resignation Saturday. It’s a resignation we find understandable. Jones didn’t want to take away from the real work that President Barack Obama’s administration is trying to accomplish, a sentiment we find admirable.
The Yale Law School graduate was top adviser to the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which Obama created to promote “green” jobs. Jones was appointed based on his best-selling 2008 novel, “The Green Collar Economy,” and his ability to convey how clean energy could provide economic opportunities for Americans.
However, he quickly found in the political world, a person’s past easily can be dug up.
Jones recently had been forced to issue two public apologies — the first for signing a petition from a group that suggested former President George W. Bush’s administration “deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen,” and the second for using a crude term to describe Republicans in one of his speeches.
His fate further was sealed when additional skeletons were dug from his closet, including his involvement with the San Francisco Bay Area radical group Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, a group known to have Marxist roots.
How these past actions affect Jones’ actions for creating “green” jobs is hard to decipher. Presidents have had sordid pasts, but has it affected their ability to do the job?
What we question is how any of his past actions affect his ability to promote clean energy. He was appointed for his talent, and he was perceived by the administration as the best man for the job.
Perhaps Jones’ past wouldn’t have been scrutinized if it weren’t for Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck, who retaliated against a group that Jones started in 2005.
Jones was accused of being a part of a boycott against Beck’s show in the wake of Beck calling the president a “racist.”
Beck quickly led a push for the resignation of the embattled Jones.
Instead of heightening the controversy and drawing attention away from the real issues at hand, Jones announced his resignation.
We hope when the dust has settled from a battle among politicians pointing fingers, they will focus on the real work that needs to be done. Instead of debating or promoting new “green” jobs, politicians are wasting time arguing about Jones. He might not have taken the smartest actions, but should they be the focus of our news? It seems the real issues are being lost in the background.
Action still needs to be made on the clean energy priorities Jones advocated.
It’s likely this will lead to additional resignations.
In this case, though, Jones was right in removing himself from the issue as to not create a distraction to his cause.
We do have one question for those who pushed for this resignation: Were they concerned about Jones’ ability to do his job, or were they just looking to score cheap political points?
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