President Barack Obama has established a staff position in the White House to oversee arts and culture in the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs
—
Arts, Briefly - Cultural Post at White House - NYTimes.com
I am thrilled, I am! I think this is HUGE in terms of recognizing the vitality and necessity of the arts in our country. Ultimately I think this is absolutely a step in the right direction…but ever since I started reading The Plot Against America I just keep thinking about all of the terrible things that could happen. And I have to say - I’m just a teeny bit concerned about who the next president will appoint. Who would Bush have appointed if this had been a position during his term…and what would that appointee have done to the arts? With due respect to the Italians in my life (particularly the ones who are soon to be family!) I cringe every time I read about Berlusconi’s muddling of Italian arts and culture. Who knows…it’s still entirely unclear to me exactly what the scope of this position is and how it’s going to interact with the NEA/NEH.
