Van Jones on White House, right-wing smears

Democracy Now!:

Forced out of his job as White House Special Advisor on Green Jobs by a right-wing smear campaign, Jones has just become the first former Obama official to release a book. Its called "Rebuild the Dream," and its release comes on the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. Obama appointed Jones as an advisor in 2009, but he resigned his post after he came under an attack spearheaded by then-Fox News host Glenn Beck. He writes about the experience in his new book, and describes his unusual history as both a White House insider and an outside agitator for grassroots change. "I am probably the only person in American life who was a grassroots outsider, who became a White House insider — I was there for six months — and then I became a grassroots outsider again," Jones says. "What I saw when I was there, and after, is this massive misunderstanding between the insiders in that building, the insiders in D.C., and the outsiders that helped to elect those folks, and huge missed opportunities for positive change." Jones also outlines strategies for the future.