Michelle Obama and the Arts

No matter what idiot reporters from the Daily Beast think, Michelle Obama is not a sufficient spokesperson for the arts, nor is she or should she be the "Arts Czar" of the Obama administration.  There should be someone knowledgeable and dedicated to the arts, not just the first lady.  The Daily Beast says: 

Michelle Obama is coming out strong for the arts. That’s not all that unusual for first ladies, but from her, it’s unexpected. The arts weren’t viewed as one of her priorities. When she campaigned, there was barely a mention of the arts. Her official White House biography mentions nothing about the arts. It says that the issues close to her heart, the ones she’ll work on, are supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, and encouraging national service....

So the sudden, sustained forays into the arts are boosting the morale of those in the arts community who’ve been disappointed by Barack Obama’s failure to appoint an “arts czar,” a point person who would coordinate arts policy across the government and promote the arts. Having Michelle as arts ambassador may just make up for it. She may be able to do for the arts what’s she’s done for interest in fashion just by showing up at the opera, the ballet, the museum, and the theater.

Yeah right.  The arts are more important than just some "interest getting".  One of the biggest problems in the USA is this idea that art and the arts are luxuries - things nice but not necessary. And to some extent, that's true.  The arts are not necessary for survival.  But the arts are part and parcel of how a country thinks of itself.  Soviet realist art gives a very specific vision of the Soviet Union - so does impressionism.  Rent is and was so popular because it captured a time - it somehow captured the feeling of being a twenty-something in the late '80's.  Avant garde theater is just as much an expression of intellectual vibrancy as it is strange and unappealing to many.  

And the arts deserve more than some visits from the first lady.  As much as I admire Mrs. Obama, the position of the First Lady is not one that creates policy.  History has defined the role of the First Lady as a spokeswoman, not a czar.  Treating the arts as if a spokeswoman is sufficient is one of the things that make the arts somehow "non-employers" - it increases the sad misapprehension in the Pennsylvania senate that the arts aren't important.