Dean Greeted Warmly by Arab Americans

An assemblage of politically active Arab Americans gave former Vermont governor Howard Dean repeated ovations Saturday at the windup of a two-day meeting that marked a clear shift of allegiance from President Bush to his Democratic rivals.

The apparent shift of sentiment in the Arab American community could be of political significance. Polling by John Zogby, brother of the AAI president, indicated that in 2000, Bush enjoyed an 8-percentage -point lead over Al Gore among these voters. Numbering 500,000 to 1 million, they are concentrated in such battleground states as Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey. Bush has been in Dearborn, the largest community of Arab Americans, twice in the past 20 months, but opposition to his policies has continued to grow.

John Khamis of San Jose, Calif., a Republican activist, said the combination of Bush's Middle East policy and Ashcroft's use of the Patriot Act means that "the attractive parts of the Republican agenda, our economic policies, are falling on deaf ears."

Asked if he thought Bush could regain support among Arab Americans before next year's election, Khamis said, "I don't know. It's going to take a real effort, and the odds are against him. I've had 30-year Republicans tell me they are re-registering as independents."