CNN: Obama did not order Van Jones' resignation, adviser says

[Poll_Blind]

CNN:

The resignation of Obama administration figure Van Jones, following controversies over a petition he had signed and his comments about Republicans, did not come at the request of the president, the White House senior adviser said Sunday.

"Absolutely not -- this was Van Jones' own decision," David Axelrod told NBC's "Meet the Press" when asked if the president had ordered the resignation.

--snip--

"On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me," Jones said in the statement. "They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide."

Adding that he came to Washington to "fight for others, not for myself," Jones said in the statement, "I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future."

I'm inclined to believe this is probably true. I could be wrong.

PB

[goclark]

1. I believe what he says, he is a class act

and he 'll be back again IMO.

[WeDidIt]

2. The timing was certainly brilliant

11:00 PM on the Saturday night of Labor Day weekend is the best time for this sort of thing.

[NoodleyAppendage]

3. The order came from Rahm most likely. n/t

J

[JohnnyLib2]

4. God forbid that the story changes from this statement.

:shrug:

[Spazito]

5. I believe it was voluntary....

obviously a person who really does, as he says, want to "fight for others, not for myself" and sees this faux controversy making that fight harder.

[RufusTFirefly]

6. Did Robert Gibbs get the memo?

I can't find the transcript for the presser when he was asked about Jones, but Gibbs' response was chilly enough to alert anyone who's been inside the Beltway that Jones' days were numbered.

[Laelth]

7. Personally, I'd prefer a distraction right now ...

... so the wing-nuts can focus on Jones and not "health insurance reform." It's better for us when the talking heads have their eyes off the ball.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Jeep789]

8. Me too. Van Jones should have said,

'Damn straight I called them assholes and I was being nice. They tried to destroy my country and as an Amercian I am appalled by their actions. It is time for them to shut up and let the adults undo the damage they've caused.'

Lets put the focus back on who caused the chit we are in now.

[Laelth]

10. Hear, hear! n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[polichick]

12. Yep - that's what should have happened. nt

[HillbillyBob]

16. I agree with you.

The Maladministration of shrub was illegitimate to say the least.
He had a 'houseful' of malcontents and criminally insane yet how much did it take to get gonzo et al to resign?

Does everyone agree that the legitimately elected Al Gore wouldn't have caused anywhere near the damage that shrub and company did?

We would have signed the Kyoto at the very least.

I think Van Jones is one of the good guys and should have stood his ground since he was in the right. He has done a lot of good by getting at risk youth in Oakland's Richmond sector jobs and training in green tech..
Did shrub do any such thing?

[polichick]

9. It was a horrible move to accept his resignation. Who will be hounded out next?? nt

[JustinL]

13. Cass Sunstein, Mark Lloyd, or Carl Browner

Those are Glenn Beck's next 3 targets.

link

[polichick]

14. Wow - I wish the WH could see how weak they're looking right now...

Finally, we have the presidency and both houses of congress and they're still worried about what a bunch of sociopaths think.

[DefenseLawyer]

11. Tom Hagen had a nice talk with him about the old Roman Legions. n/t

[madfloridian]

15. Here is Gibbs' statement.

"WHITE HOUSE PRESS SEC. ROBERT GIBBS: Well, what Van Jones decided was that the agenda of this president was bigger than any one individual. The president thanks Van Jones for his service in the first eighth months, and helping to coordinate renewable energy jobs that are going to lay the foundation for our future economic growth.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But did the president want him to go?

GIBBS: Well, the president and the CEQ accepted his resignation because Van Jones, as he says in his statement, understood that he was going to get in the way of the president and ultimately this country moving forward on something as important as creating jobs in a clean energy economy."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/06/AR2009090601184.html