When I heard what Robert Gibbs said, I wasn't offended. I wasn't offended because I was fairly sure the comment wasn't meant for me. While I do have some serious disagreements (and a few petty ones too) with the Obama administration, those are buried under a thick layer of gratitude.
I'm glad to have him working for me every day, and not just for me, either. He's also working for the people who never gave him a fair shake -- on the right and the left.
As much as I wish more were possible, I know how historically lucky we are to have him working for us. But working against long odds for people who don't appreciate you, day after day, can't help but take a toll. A lot of us know this from our own workplace. Ever do the same kind of work for two different bosses, one who appreciated you and one who didn't? It makes all the difference in the world.
But again, back to the thought I came in on. I feel like when Van Jones came to Netroots Nation this summer, he said essentially the same thing that Robert Gibbs said. He just said it in a way that held you by the hand and helped you understand where he was coming from.
"I can't stand it. President Obama volunteered to be the captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg," Jones said.
Speaking directly to bloggers and other pockets of online outrage, Jones said: "This is harder than it looks. Having spent six months in the White House, it's a totally different experience when you're sitting there and the missiles are coming over the horizon at you," he said.
I don't want to put words in Jones' mouth that weren't there to begin with, but it seems to me like a lot of people heard the exact same sentiment -- phrased differently. Like my dad always told me, it's not what you say, it's how you say it.
Maybe I'm off base, and maybe Van Jones thinks Robert Gibbs is full of bullpucky and needs to resign. But just read over some more of his words and see if you don't get what he was trying to tell us at NN'10.
"If you don't go back to despair... if you keep the hope alive, then change is still possible."
(snip)
"We have an actual backlash right now that will fight to bury everything you have fought for. You should not be surprised, Netroots Nation, you didn't lay down for 8 years when people you didn't like were in office. So don't expect them to lay down for you now."
(snip)
"... That's why all you secular, cynical bloggers were out there crying like babies in November 2008. All right? Aww, I saw you crying! Sligning snot, hugging each other. (mimes crying) ... Then the next day, (wipes face, mimes typing at computer) 'Well, this may not work out very well.'"
You love your country and you believe what we were told as children. That's why some of you are so angry right now, and writing all that mean stuff and have so much fire coming off of you and stuff. It's because your hearts weren't broken this year. Your hearts were broken a long time ago.
When you were a child you got a chance to sing a song. America the Beautiful... You didn't see is as some little ditty to sing. You saw it as a promise to keep. Somebody somewhere, along the way, took that promise away from you...
When you said the Pledge of Allegiance, and put your hand over your heart, you remembered what it said. And it didn't say, 'Liberty and justice for all, except the gay people.' It didn't say, 'Liberty and justice for all, except for the newcomers and the immigrants.' That wasn't what we said.
You know what? My fingers are tired. You ever go to highlight a sentence in a book, then it turns into a paragraph, then the whole page turns yellow? Some books are just that good. This speech isn't worth highlighting. It's worth watching again, in its entirety. So please do.
You can listen to it here.
So maybe Van Jones oughta be the White House press secretary? Make those Fox News reporters heads explode, right there in their new front row seats?
Food for thought, I hope. Stay together, y'all. The word from reddest Oklahoma is what it always has been. We can win. Yes we can.