Hail to the Critic

The thoughtful Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne last summer chided presidential candidate Robert Dole for his favorable review of the box-office hit Independence Day and his more mixed assessment of the recent output of Hollywood in general. Dionne's swipe was only half serious, and the columnist ultimately conceded that presidents and presidential aspirants should be encouraged to take matters of culture seriously, even to comment upon them from time to time.

They should indeed.

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