[These] observations [are] made by [the author] during his tenure as assistant secretary of state for cultural and educational affairs during the Johnson administration, a position since abolished. It was [the author's] hope that by giving greater attention to cultural concerns the nation's capital would become less one-dimensional, a city not totally preoccupied with political decision making. It was also one of the benefits of [the author's] position to have discovered firsthand what the term culture means to Washington's official inhabitants, namely, the dead hand of the past, opening nights at performing arts centers, people-to-people activities, and cultural lag.... (Preface, p. xi)