Arts organizations are becoming aggressive in getting the U.S. presidential candidates to talk about arts funding, says Allan M. Jalon in the L.A. Times (3/5/08). His story, "The Arts of the Campaign Trail," covers the arts platforms of all the candidates, including Obama's proposed Artist Corps to send young artists to teach in low-income areas, and Clinton's "Putting Arts in Reach" initiative. And he goes into detail about the election-year initiatives of organizations like Americans for the Arts and its "political arm," ArtsVote 2008. He discusses ArtsVote's ten-point plan for the arts in public life and its tracking of the candidates' responses; the Arts Education Partnership's poll of likely voters; and the work of arts advisors to the campaigns. He quotes CAN Co-director Linda Frye Burnham on the chances of campaign promises coming true. [LINK] Posted by Linda Frye Burnham