In an unusually heated speech, Mr Frohnmayer spoke against critics of the National Endowment for the Arts. He mainly blamed Patrick Buchanan for stirring up the controversy that prompted Mr. Frohnmayer’s firing from the National Endowment for the Arts last month. He also openly criticized President Bush. Mr. Frohnmayer recited the First Amendment and ended his speech by singing a verse from the hymn “Simple Gifts.”