The Bushes seem to be missing the point that the NEA is for many fiscal conservatives Exhibit A of spending seriousness: if you can’t save pennies on chocolate-smearing performance artists, where can you save? They’ve obviously decided that being “pro-arts” is a good move toward moderate Repubs with money, and a cheap one at that.

But the annoying thing about the NYT article is the real PR disasters of the NEA — the grants to Mapplethorpe, Andres Serrano, Karen Finley — are put across merely as things about which “conservatives complained,” when opposition to the idea of subsidized bullwhip-up-where? photos and Piss Christ is hardly contained to conservatives.