Jimmy Carter may now be more popular than he ever was as president. The former statesman earned bipartisan praise this week after he joined Habitat for Humanity to build houses in Nashville, black eye and all.
Carter had just suffered a fall, which necessitated 14 stitches above his eyebrow. Nevertheless, he explained, “I had a No. 1 priority and that was to come to Nashville to build houses!”
While America’s second favorite living president garnered praise across the aisle, some couldn’t resist throwing in a dig at the current commander in chief.
In a world of bad men, Jimmy Carter is a good one. https://t.co/k7kHncpyMZ
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) October 7, 2019
we never deserved jimmy carter https://t.co/1zyTWwg5Ur
— Erin privately horrified Ryan (@morninggloria) October 7, 2019
Jimmy Carter fell down, got back up, went back to building houses for the homeless.
Donald Trump fell down. End of story.
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) October 7, 2019
Though it is difficult to imagine an orange tuft of hair rising up from the sawhorses at a charity event, it’s interesting that Carter seems to have outlived all of his scandals. The only living president Americans love more is Barack Obama, and it helps that the media has been telling us his administration was “scandal-free.”
It’s been 38 years since Jimmy Carter was in office, and it seems that we’re finally done discussing his brief presidential legacy. George W. Bush, on the other hand, is more likely to still be going through the ringer.
When the former president sat next to Ellen DeGeneres at a Dallas Cowboys game, some onlookers (including Media Matters’ Parker Molloy, who later deleted her tweet) were furious that Ellen would appear with Bush, particularly that she would — horror of horrors — laugh with him. “I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have,” she later explained.
Yes, that was me at the Cowboys game with George W. Bush over the weekend. Here’s the whole story. pic.twitter.com/AYiwY5gTIS
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) October 8, 2019
Whether or not Americans appreciated a president’s policies in the White House, they should be able to recognize when he does something good, such as building a house, or when he does something normal, such as talking to someone with different opinions. (But maybe that’s not so normal anymore?)
It’s OK to praise good actions, whether or not you adore the character of the actor.
