I was a morning radio host before I got into TV news. In that role, I was encouraged to inject a little humor into the lives of listeners battling rush-hour traffic. During that era, we had a Democratic president, followed by a Republican president. Our area governors, senators and representatives came from both major parties. I was an equal opportunity jokester. Thankfully, my listeners had a good sense of humor, advertisers never complained, and neither my bosses nor the politicians ever tried to censor me. It was, as we hear so often, a different era.

Our current president tends to divide people into sharply opposing factions. A new poll from Fox shows he has solid support from his Republican base, very little support from Democrats, and rapidly shrinking support from voters who consider themselves independent. His 41 percent overall approval rate in the Fox poll is a bit higher than other recent national polls, all of which indicate his support has declined in light of the Iran war, higher gas prices, the Epstein files and any number of other recent controversies.

The president's supporters often say he is not to blame for the dissatisfaction expressed by some Americans. They cite leftover problems from the two most recent Democratic presidents, “the fake news media,” other countries that have long taken advantage of the United States, and political opponents, among other adversaries. Politics is down and dirty, so perhaps there's enough blame to go around.

While I do not agree with the president on every issue, I believe in giving credit where due. I applaud his efforts to investigate sky-high salaries among TVA's highest ranking employees. I appreciate TVA as much as anyone, but if Americans are serious about keeping energy costs down, the sheer number of million dollar salaries deserves some scrutiny.

I also approve of his rants about low water pressure. I like my showers to blast me into next week, and I loved the old-time toilets that flushed so strongly, it was one and done, without a doubt.

I'm glad he accelerated the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, ended the production of pennies, and has held NATO countries more accountable for their financial obligations.

Some of his other actions may bear fruit in the long run. In most cases, they are still a work in progress.

But I can't give him a pass on the subjects of kindness and decency. Obviously, those traits are not a priority for his staunchest defenders. “We didn't elect him to be our national pastor,” they say.

I understand that. I know I'm old school, but I have always appreciated the efforts of presidents, even those with whom I disagree, to at least attempt to be healers.

For example, I was not pleased with our nation's leader issuing this statement about Rob Reiner, just hours after his death: “He passed away due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”

I was saddened to read that the president had this to say about the death of Robert Mueller, a Purple Heart recipient who was widely admired for his 10-year stint as FBI director: “Good. I'm glad he's dead.”

Certainly the president was not aligned politically with either man. This was his way of delivering retribution, as he promised his followers he would do. But as our moms often told us, “If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.”

The president's tasteless comments drew much-deserved criticism from many, but were largely met with silence from elected officials in his own party, and millions of his supporters. He should be better, and so should we, as a nation.

If standing up for kindness and decency makes a reader think less of me, I can live with that. The angry e-mails come with the territory.

The actress Bette Davis, upon hearing of the death of a rival, famously said this: "You should never say bad things about the dead, you should only say good. Joan Crawford is dead. Good." That was tacky for sure, but Bette Davis was not President of the United States.

David Carroll is a Chattanooga news anchor, and his latest book is "I Won't Be Your Escape Goat," available from his website, ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. You may contact him at 900 Whitehall Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37405, or at RadioTV2020@yahoo.com.