[OldDeckHand]

Paul McCartney slams a former US President while as an "honored guest" at the White House, and he's rewarded with this. McCartney was supposed to receive this award several years ago, but he couldn't attend - the speculation was at the time that he didn't want to receive the award with Bush in attendance.

Merle Haggard is getting honored too. Maybe Merle will b1tch-slap him.

[Corin Stormhands]

I don’t know about McCartney, but Streisand said she would have preferred to wait. Still, both she and Bush were gracious at the actual event.

This is awarded for their accomplishments in their cultural field. Not for their politics.

No, that doesn’t mean McCartney isn’t a jackass. But it also doesn’t disqualify him for this honor.