Van Jones: if you can't beat em, join em

Speaking at the beginning of the three-day “Take Back the American Dream” conference in Washington, Jones said liberals should follow the tea party example because following Obama’s election, liberals “went from hopey to mopey” and now have “low self-esteem.”

“We have the wrong theory of the presidency. . .[while tea party groups] are very adult about charisma and leadership,” he said.

The Wall Street protests, Jones said, are a good beginning for a liberal movement, but need to work on a more cohesive message and organized approach.

Jones suggested a movement of his own to fill that hole, a progressive “support center”called “Rebuild the Dream” he modeled after the tea party’s support centers.