I believe that comments about the dignity of the cleaning woman job are missing the point of Imus' put down of Gwen Ifill.

Here's the cultural context of that diss, as I see it:

You will note that shock jock Don Imus didn't make a general statement putting down all females who work as cleaning women.

I believe that it is also significant that Imus also didn't make a blanket comment that all Black female journalists are "cleaning women". For example, Imus didn't say that CNN's light skinned, slender {naurally} straight haired African American journalist/anchor woman Suzanne Malveau was a "cleaning woman who covered the White House".

Imus specifically referred to the dark brown skinned, full figured {naturally} nappy headed PBS journalist/anchor woman Gwen Ifill
as "the cleaning lady who covers the White House".

In doing so, Imus was using coded language to comment on the fact that it's a cultural disconnect to see women who look like Gwen Ifill in such a respected role as being a journalist who covers the White House. Imus may have also been trying to put Ifill {back} in her place.

In that recent radio broadcast which caused him to be fired, Imus "coon talk" in referring to Black members of Rutgers' female basketball team as "nappy headed hos" and "jigabos" and "grizzles". I've seen photos of these women and all of them are dark brown skinned. But in that same now infamous radio broadcast, Imus and his producer described the Black women on the championship winning Tennessee women basketball team as cute. I've never seen photos of these women, but I betcha that at least some of them are lighter skinned than the women who are on the Rutger's team.

Imus' comments dissing Gwen Ifill are rooted in the same racism as his comments dissing the physical appearances of Black members of Rutger's women's basketball team while speaking favorable of the physical appearance of Black members of Tennesse women's basketall team. Each of these comments come from the racist imagery and expectations of Black people that permeate American print, movie, and television mass media.

It may be instructive for folks here to read Don Bogle's 1992 book Toms, Coons. Bucks, and Mammies.. Here's an excerpt from a review of that book:

"The title of the book indicates the different mythic types that have been used in mainstream U.S. films to depict black people, and which are easily mistaken as being aspects of real black experience. Briefly the different types can be described as follows:
Toms, a good negro character who submissively does everything expected of them, however degrading, and never turns on white people. Often they end up as saintly role models.

Coons, are a source of amusement because they are complete buffoons. There are two variants of this type; 1, the pickaninny being a black child whose eyes pop and plays about in a diverting manner; 2, the uncle remus, who is as saintly as the tom type, but he tends to be quaint, naive and comic in his philosophical assertions. As Bogle notes: 'The pure coons emerged as no-account niggers, those unreliable, crazy, lazy, subhuman creatures good for nothing more than eating watermelons, stealing chickens, shooting crap, or butchering the English language.'

Mulattoes, are usually tragic fair-skinned women who live as a white person, but have the secret of black blood in their veins. It is ironic that such characters were usually played by white actresses so that there were no problems for the white audiences' identification with her traumas.

Mammies, are similar to the coons, but she is fiercely independent in her domestic domain. A good example of this role is in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). It is the mammy (Louise Beavers) who gives Mr. Blandings (Cary Grant) the advertising slogan that saves his job, house and family, and all she gets is a $10 rise!

Bucks, constitute the brutal black man out to cause havoc. Often the savage and violent character is also over-sexed and eager to get more than his hands on white women."