Bloomberg News, Jeremy Gerard was displeased with Mr. Landesman’s new slogan for the endowment, “Art Works,” which Mr. Landesman described as “something muscular that says, ‘We matter.’ ” Mr. Gerard writes that this makes Mr. Landesman seem “less like a game-changer than someone versed in a tired and dubious argument that goes like this: The arts should be funded because they generate income by providing jobs and supporting ancillary businesses, as when people attending concerts or Broadway shows hire babysitters, go out to dinner, park in garages and so forth.”

In The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Bonetti writes that “having the director of the N.E.A. saying that without ever having been there is stupid, just like having a president characterize the behavior of a Cambridge police officer as stupid is stupid. Know what I mean? Let’s insist on evidence, facts before we make judgments, please!”

Lee Rosenbaum, who writes for ArtsJournal.com under the nom de blog CultureGrrl, sought further comment from Rep. Aaron Schock of Peoria. The congressman’s communications director, Dave Natonski, told her this:

I find it ironic that the incoming head of the NEA would belittle the contributions of Peoria to the arts community. The term, “Will it play in Peoria?” was created during the height of the Vaudeville arts renaissance, in which, of course, Peoria played a major role.

Perhaps Mr. Landesman would benefit from a trip to Peoria to see a production of “Rent” at the Eastlight Theater and learn about Peoria’s historical contributions to the humanities. Additionally, if the Steppenwolf and the Goodman are so superior, they should be self-sustaining.

It seems to me, Mr. Landesman makes a strong case for weaning them off taxpayer funding.

From the wonderful Artsy Schmartsy in I have a man crush on the new N.E.A. Chair:

We now have an NEA Chair who believes that the arts deserve a “place at the table.” I am not making this up. I wish I had attribution on that statement, but I promise I’ve heard him say it and I’m not just dreaming. I give a big thumbs up to that statement because I believe the same thing. Arts+table setting=good thing. You put arts at the table, they show up, they have good manners, and people are so glad they are there to buffer the other table guests like national defense and anything coming from Timothy Geithner and his friends at the Treasury

That the NEA Chair is a pitcher for the Broadway Show League is no silly, little stupid thing. He also wanted to buy a major league baseball team a few years back and no o. He hired Rose O’Donnell to sing in public. This is a guy who takes some chances.

That’s the thing that impresses me most about our new NEA Chair. He is not afraid to make his opinions known. He’s not afraid to get a little dirty (you don’t stay clean being a Broadway producer, folks), and not afraid to do a few things that people might have opinions about. Like him or hate him, he’s gonna make sure a lot of people know that we still have a National Endowment for the Arts and that it is a pretty relevant part of our national cultural rep. By the by, our new NEA Chair didn’t sit by and wait for someone to suggest him as a possible candidate for the job. By all accounts, he raised his hand high and said, “Pick me, because I’ll kick open some doors.”

And let’s face it, having an NEA Chair named Rocco is just kind of tough and it’s time that the arts looked as buff as Michelle Obama’s biceps (do not get me started on that one, do not)