Barack Obama speaks, and the world listens - more intently, at this point, than it does to the actual president of the United States. President-elect Obama can inspire and alarm, calm markets or add to jitters. And with the nation in economic crisis, he seems keenly aware of that...
We laughed as Glenn Beck took to his whiteboard to outline an absolutely preposterous "theory" about how the Apollo Alliance, led by Van Jones, was organizing a revolutionary army to take over the United States in the name of communism (or something). We smirked as he claimed Americorps was going to become Obama's personal army (or something). We wondered how anyone could take this lunatic seriously. And then it turned out people took him seriously. Due to Beck's incomprehensible but persistent soap-boxing, Van Jones has lost his job as Special Adviser for Green Jobs--Jones resigned over the weekend to prevent his being a 'distraction' to the administration. Now, no doubt pleased with his success, Beck has released the names of the Obama Administration advisers he plans to smear next.