Candidates Seek Audience With Arab Americans

Lieberman's Mideast Remarks Criticized At Meeting in Michigan

By David S. Broder
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 18, 2003; Page A07

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 17 -- Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) was booed and heckled Friday by an audience of Arab Americans as a parade of presidential hopefuls made their appeals to a constituency that is gaining recognition as an increasingly important swing vote in the 2004 campaign.

Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, drew shouts of disagreement from many of the 300 or so people attending the Arab American Institute leadership conference in this Detroit suburb when he attempted to defend the security fence under construction by the Israeli government in the West Bank as a temporary nuisance that would be removed once the Palestinian leadership makes "a 100 percent effort" to end terrorism.

His reception was in marked contrast to the applause given rivals Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio), Sens. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and John Edwards (N.C.), and a spokesman for retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who canceled because of illness. Marc Racicot, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and now chairman of President Bush's reelection campaign, was heard in silence and criticized afterward for his response to questions about administration policy in the Middle East and the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act, both of which are highly unpopular with this audience.

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Racicot faced an audience that had heard hour after hour of criticism of Bush for not devoting enough personal attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and condemnation of Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and the Patriot Act. Treading lightly as one "who does not make policy for the president," he urged the audience to remember Bush's frequent statements that he views Islam as "a religion of hope and of peace." Racicot said that if there are problems with the Patriot Act, he expects "refinements from Congress that will assure we do not invade the rights of any Americans."

Afterward, Sami Merhi of New Jersey, who identified himself as a Bush supporter in 2000, said Racicot's performance convinced him that "if Bush got 50 percent of the Arab American vote last time, he'll be lucky to get 5 percent next year."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43374-2003Oct17.html

Right now they are getting very scared :bounce: