bill maher van jonesBill Maher and Van JonesNo disrespect to Ralph Nader, but I'd kind of given up hope of a viable Green Party candidate. Thanks to Van Jones, however, I'm allowing myself a measure of cautious optimism. Why? Because the environmental advocate and Obama's former Special Advisor for Green Jobs is the only politician whose ideas for putting this country back together make any sense at all.

Or perhaps I should say, the only only politician whose ideas make sense to those of us who aren't billionaire CEOs of behemoth corporations.

Consider the conference Jones organized: "Taking Back the American Dream." Exactly. Doesn't the name just say it all? See, Jones actually gets that for most of this country, the American Dream is out of reach and has been for quite some time. We're not even sure if it exists at all anymore.

Jones has firsthand experience of the American Dream's disintegration. He resigned from his position at the White House in the midst of what he called a "smear campaign" by conservatives, who were outraged by a public comment Jones made disparaging congressional Republicans and the appearance of his name on a petition for 911truth.org. (Two things that make me like him all the more!)

Thankfully, the contrived controversy didn't keep Jones down. Currently a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a senior policy advisor at Green for All, a national NGO focused on "building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty," Jones has been in the spotlight recently for his support of the Wall Street protests.

"Wall Street has long been the home of the biggest threat to American Democracy," he says.

No arguments here!

If you've never heard Jones speak, check out this clip from his appearance on Friday night's episode of Real Time With Bill Maher. It just might make you want to Go Gree.