Obituaries

Dolly Parton Knew What She Was Doing

The country icon was a woman of contradictions. Or was she?

Billy Binion | 8.26.2026 2:46 PM

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Dolly Parton (Illustration: David N Seelig/Cal Sport Media/Newscom/Ingrid Balabanova/Dreamstime/Midjourney)

Dolly Parton died yesterday. You probably already knew that. How could you not? The country icon, actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist with high hopes and higher hair occupied a place in the American consciousness that seemed to defy gravity. Who else would attract the admiration of both President Donald Trump and the Democratic Socialists of America?

The question isn't really whether Parton, who passed away at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer, transgressed political and cultural boundaries that often appear intransgressible. Many have made that point. And it was more than just a feeling: A survey released shortly before her death found Parton had stratospheric favorability ratings, more than any other public figure in the poll. It was not close. With 70 percent of respondents expressing a positive view and about 5 percent expressing a negative one, Parton came out with 65 percent net favorability. Former President Barack Obama, in second place, had 14 percent.

The question is........

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