For a conservative politician, the appearance of obscene or sacrilegious art that can be linked to public funds is an opportunity to create an issue.

Congress added restrictions to the endowment's fiscal 1990 appropriation barring the agency from financing obscene art.

The ban on obscene art also harms the system of peer review for allocating Federal grants.

"I don't believe there's such a thing called obscene art," she said.

Are you puzzled by the President's arts flip-flop, as he now backs away from the public funding of obscene or sacrilegious art?

The show became the target of conservative political and religious figures who accused the endowment of spending public money on obscene art.

The endowment is under a Congressional ban that bars financing "obscene" art, .

As a result, an amendment was added to last year's appropriation bill barring the endowment from financing obscene art.

And maybe, just maybe, you're smart enough to know there are more important things to do than chase skirts or create obscene art.

Always at the top of the dispute list is "obscene art."