Lebanon Supporters Converge at White House

In the 2000 election many Arabs--both Muslim and Christian--voted for George Bush. The expected him to move in the same direction as his father on key Middle East issues, especially the Arab-Israeli conflict. Of course, these hopes were disappointed, especially when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stiff-armed Bush in the spring of 2002 when the president demanded that Israel withdraw its forces from Palestinian designated areas of the West Bank. Bush--probably for a combination of religious, ideological and politician reasons--showed no interest in pushing the point. From that point forward Bush has accepted Israel's interests as his own. The result is the U.S. has subordinated its national interests to Israel's more during Bush's presidency than during the administration of any other president.
Even so, Bush retained the support of many Arab Christians, who tend to be from Lebanon, Syrian and Egypt and who are more likely to be prosperous and Republican than Arab Muslims. Bush's willingness to clear brush while Lebanon burned has lost him much of that Christian Arab support.
When you consider that Muslims account for about 6 million people in the U.S., and then add in the million or so Americans of Arab Christians descent, you begin to see a large bloc of voters who are not likely to swarm to support any candidate closely identified with Bush and his policies. Of course, they Democrats moved with such abandon to support Israel's war in the Lebanon, it does not follow that Democratic candidates will benefit from the backlash that I posit.

Lebanon Supporters Converge at White House