Van Jones, Obama's Controversial Adviser, Resigns as Green Jobs Commissar

I learned of this story virtually simultaneously from The Rhetorican and Memorandum.

From the Wall Street Journal, "Obama Adviser Resigns Amid Controversy":

An adviser to President Barack Obama resigned amid controversy over past inflammatory statements, the White House said early Sunday.

Van Jones, an administration official specializing in environmentally friendly "green jobs," has been linked to efforts suggesting a government role in the Sept. 11 terror attacks and to derogatory comments about Republicans.

Mr. Jones issued an apology on Thursday. When asked the next day whether Mr. Obama still had confidence in him, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said only that Mr. Jones "continues to work in the administration."

But take a note of the title at NBC Washington, "Obama Aide Van Jones Resigns After GOP Attacks":

President Obama's environmental adviser Van Jones resigned from his post late Saturday evening after he came under fire for a series of inflammatory statements he made about Republicans, the White House said early Sunday morning.

Jones' "asshole" rebuke really is the least of it, in my opinion. It's been the constant flow of information about Jones' hardline radicalism and extremist associations that rightly did him in; and it's not primarily the "GOP" that forced the resignation. Actually, it's mostly been Glenn Beck on Fox News, and a number of top bloggers especially Gateway Pundit, but also a number of the big right-wing websites.

Indeed, Gateway Pundit, also commenting on the NBC title, says, "Let the biased headlines begin - NBC says its the GOP's fault!"

The New York Times is content to play it down the middle, "White House Adviser on ‘Green Jobs’ Resigns" (via Memeorandum):

In a victory for Republicans and the Obama administration’s conservative critics, Van Jones resigned as the White House’s environmental jobs “czar” on Saturday.

The key is "conservative critics." This really is an amazing victory for right-wing bloggers and media pundits. There's been a few prominent Republicans calling for hearings or for Jones' resignation, but it's the grassroots that deserves the lion's share of credit.