He may have lost every state in country music’s heartland in 2008 and 2012, but President Barack Obama can count on one surprising fan: Grammy Award winning recording artist Garth Brooks.
In an interview during a Washington event associated with the Kennedy Center Honors, Brooks told reporters that he “loves [Obama] to death.” Asked his views on the President’s job performance on the red carpet, Brooks lamented that Obama has not been able to keep all the promises he made while running for the White House.
Copying a common line from Congressional Democrats and television analysts, Brooks noted that Washington gridlock had made it harder for Obama to make the changes the country needed. He also said that Obama was learning just how “tough” the presidency can be.
While defending the sitting president, Brooks raised concerns about the spread of partisanship in American public life.
Citing a pervasive feeling that people are too willing to discard good ideas because they come from either the Democrats or the Republicans, Brooks said that he was worried the entire political system needs reform. “We’re 200 years old and we might think of kicking it in the ass a little bit,” the notoriously salty Brooks said.
