This time the criticism is coming all the way from the White House. After President Obama reportedly called Kanye West a “jackass” off the record, former President Jimmy Carter has offered his biting opinion as well.
But now Kanye is in trouble with another Oval Office occupant, former President Jimmy Carter, who, speaking at a town hall meeting at Emory University, called West’s behavior “completely uncalled-for” and, showing off a surprisingly dry sense of humor, added that “his punishment was to appear on the new Jay Leno show.”
Obviously, Kanye West isn’t going to care about what Jimmy Carter has to say. The fact that Jimmy Carter even knows anything about pop culture is commendable; he’s probably informing his followers on who Kanye West is. As for President Obama, I’m positive Kanye feels embarrassed through and through as the rapper publicly supported Obama’s candidacy.
The real story here, though, is that we’re even hearing Obama’s comments on an event having nothing to do with American politics. When Bill Clinton and George Bush were in office, you never heard them weighing in on any scandal involving Michael Jackson. Perhaps they did, but apparently that’s when “off the record” meant something. When ABC’s Terry Moran posted Obama’s remarks on his Twitter, the public must have known something was fishy. I don’t give a damn what Obama has to say about Kanye West, and I doubt our president wants the public to know either. Could you imagine John McCain in the oval office during this advent of technology? Obama is the perfect fit during an era where information is ubiquitous. Still, he knows which of his comments belong in the media spotlight. If he’s in the news for something other than politics, odds are the story is pointless. So, Terry Moran, it looks like you’re the real jackass in this situation.
