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MICHIGAN: THE ARAB VOTE [Henry Payne 10/26 05:30 PM]

Dearborn, Mich. boasts one of the largest concentrations of Arabs outside the Middle East - many of them refugees from the poverty and dictatorship that chokes their native lands. Four years ago, Arab-Americans gave George Bush their vote over Al Gore by a convincing 58 - 22 percent.

Four years later, has Bush's liberation of 20 million Arabs from the oppressive hand of Saddam Hussein further consolidated that vote? Just the opposite.

In one of the most stunning turnarounds this election season, Arab-Americans are poised to vote against George Bush by a wide margin. Citing mistakes made in Iraq and especially civil liberties concerns at home, Arabs polled by Zogby Intl. in March of this year supported Kerry by a strong 54-30 percent. Though that lead diminished into the teens this summer, Kerry has received backing from most major Arab organizations this fall, giving the Democrat renewed momentum into Election Day.

"This is a group that supported Bush in 2000, and they feel like they've been betrayed by Bush," says Osama Siblani, a prominent Arab leader in Dearborn and publisher of the Arab American News.

Dearborn's 93,000 Arabs is the largest concentration of Arabs in the United States. An estimated 235,000 Americans of Arab decent are registered to vote in Michigan as a whole.