Van Jones and Harry Reid, partners for a better Nevada

UPDATE: The Associated Press reported late Saturday that Van Jones resigned his position.

The whispers out of Washington have President Obama's "green jobs" czar Van Jones out of a job by Monday.

The public, thanks mostly to the reporting of Fox News, now has a pretty good fix on Mr. Jones, and what they see is pretty darn unflattering. Do an Internet search for Van Jones and see what pops up. It is impossible to believe that the White House, and the president, didn't know about the radical thoughts of Mr. Jones before they put him in his job. This error in judgment goes directly to the president and raises questions about his innermost thoughts.

But for Nevadans, the Jones deal has a significant local angle. Mr. Jones came to Nevada in August to praise Sen. Harry Reid — and Mr. Jones heaped it on Harry for his great work in promoting green jobs for Nevada. Van Jones toured facilities with Sen. Reid, giving the press plenty of time to shoot pictures of Reid and Jones together. It was a time filled with Van Jones and Harry Reid, working together for the betterment of Nevada.

Scratch that story line. Now that Van Jones is radioactive, he does nothing but embarrass the senator. And those pictures and YouTube videos won't disappear.

In addition to the politics of the moment, take a look at this video of Van Jones at Reid's energy summit at UNLV. This guy may be all that his critics charge, but first and foremost he's filled with hot air and meaningless buzzwords.

If his speech at UNLV is all there is to "green jobs," forget the radical statements — he should be fired for lack of substance.

But, if competence were the standard in in the Obama White House ...