NAACP President on Van Jones' Resignation

Green Czar and Environmental Adviser to the White House Van Jones resigned from his post on Sunday, stating: "On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide,"

Since then, there has been a whirlwind of commentary regarding the attack of Glenn Beck and GOP conservatives and how many knew it would inevitably come to this. Ben Jealous, NAACP CEO and president, had this to say about Jones' resignation:

Van Jones made a tough decision to step aside so that the nation's reform agenda will not be sidetracked by those who spin lies for profit.

Mr. Jones was on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world before he entered the White House. He was a best-selling author before he entered the White House. He was someone who made the leap from the public schools of Jackson, Tenn., to Yale University long before he entered the White House.

Now that he has chosen to leave the White House, we fully expect Mr. Jones to continue to help lead our nation out of its dual crises of environmental degradation and mass unemployment.

On a personal note, I have known Van Jones for more than 15 years. In that time, he, as is characteristic of great public servants, has continuously grown and increased his capacity for improving the condition of humanity. Throughout, he has been guided by a powerful sense of patriotism and love for all.

While I get that Jones resigning forces the GOP to find something else to harp on, I can't help but wonder what it means when TV personalities, such as Glenn Beck, can call the president a "racist" and lose advertisers but still hold on to their jobs, while a highly qualified environmentalist can make "inappropriate" comments before his official White House assignment and be pressured to resign because of it. I have two questions: How does this not embolden the GOP? And when will the madness stop?