Obama Regrets Not Giving Dolly Parton A Presidential Medal Of Freedom
Barack Obama said it was a “screw up” that he never gave Dolly Parton a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and we have to agree
Barack Obama accomplished a lot during his presidency, and there’s no denying he left a serious legacy behind after his days in the White House. But even eight years isn’t enough to do everything, and Obama has some regrets about things he wishes he had done, but didn’t get to. During an appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he copped up to one of those regrets: That he never gave Dolly Parton the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The topic came up during a segment about questions Colbert didn’t think the former president had ever been asked.
“How does Dolly Parton not have a Presidential Medal of Freedom?” he asked.
“That’s a mistake,” Obama replied. “I’m shocked.”
Colbert followed up, “Looking back on your eight years, do you realize that’s a mistake you made?”
“Actually, that was a screw up,” Obama answered. “I think I assumed that she had already got one and that was incorrect.
We can’t agree more. If anyone on Earth deserves that honor, it’s Parton, who has basically been out to save the world this year. She helped fund the Moderna coronavirus vaccine that could help end the pandemic. She’s been keeping our holidays joyful with a new Christmas album, Netflix movie, sweater line, and bakeware collection. But Dolly Parton has done so, so much more than just that for the world, which twitter was quick to point out.
One of the biggest things has to be Parton’s charity, the Imagination Library. Through it, she’s sent more than 130 million books to kids all over the world to help promote literacy, education, and healthy growth. Kids who are part of the program receive one free book every month from when they’re born until when they start school. It’s regardless of their income — this is for all kids.
But there’s even more than that. After 2016’s devastating wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountains, Parton not only raised nearly $10 million for those who were affected — she also used her own money to guarantee a monthly income to families who had been displaced by the fire until they found secure new places to live.
Honestly, Parton has almost done too much good to cover in anything shorter than a book. She’s been a champion for wildlife conservation. She’s contributed to AIDS research. And that’s all while being an A-list star who has produced some of the best pop culture of the last several decades.
TL;DR: Dolly Parton is an actual angel, and it’s a travesty that she doesn’t have a Medal of Freedom. Someone get Joe Biden on this ASAP.
