A Line in the Sand Against Glenn Beck

Watching the Glenn Beck show this past month, one might have assumed that Van Jones had assaulted Beck, insulted his wife, and stolen his kids' lunch money. Beck devoted time on a whopping 16 shows to crafting a distorted, despicable portrait of Van that few who know him would recognize.  As political smears go, it was as serious as it gets.

But make no mistake: this attack was not about Van Jones.  Beck, in league with big business groups, is seeking to derail the President's progressive agenda, and taking out Van became the vehicle for undermining clean energy and green jobs.

There was another, more personal motivation too.  Beck was trying to change the subject from the previous week, when headlines were dominated by dozens of major advertisers dropping his show.  Beck had no choice but to up the ante, and at the same time indirectly take on the group responsible for his shrinking ad roster. His distortions not surprisingly found purchase on other Fox News shows, spread to the mainstream media, and rather than let this circus distract from the relaunch of health care and the rest of the President's agenda, Van chose to fall on his sword.

In the fallout, one thing is certain: wherever Van decides to go from here he will be a force.  But now that he has left the White House, it's time to change the subject back to Beck.