What is the proper role of the president and the federal government in formulating policy for arts and culture at the national and state level? In this essay, the author, the former deputy assistant to President Clinton and adviser to the first lady on the millennium, reflects on her experiences in these posts and offers her thoughts on the future of the executive branch in opening policy doors for creative voices in America.

The author comments on examples of the work the Clintons did on behalf of advancing the arts and humanities during their White House years. She states:

The may not have a cultural policy, but it sure looks like we have many public policies that influence, develop, and employ the arts and the humanities.

Lovell closes her essay with this thought:

It should be clear that there needs to be some mechanism for listening to creative voices--a function that interacts with other offices and keeps its eye on the cultural implications of related issues from sprawl, to after-school programs, to internet policies, to much more.