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Republicans
Arab Americans and the Bush Administration
Posted on Wednesday June 23, 2004
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| AAI Chairman George Salem with President Bush |
President George W. Bush, who received 45.5% of the Arab American vote in 2000, hopes to build on his history of support from the community to repeat that success in 2004. His involvement with Arab Americans dates back to his appearance at the Arab American Tribute to the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans.
The President has appointed a diverse Cabinet which includes several Arab Americans in senior positions. Leading the list is Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. Mitch Daniels served as Director of the Office and Management and Budget until 2003 and was also a member of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council.
| “I doubt that there has been a president in the history of the United States that has been available and ready to learn, more than this president has been to the Arab American community.” -Governor Marc Racicot, Bush-Cheney Campaign Chair |
Dr. Elias Zerhouni is the director of the National Institutes of Health and Dina Habib Powell is Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel. Alex Azar serves as general counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services.
Arab American Republicans are working hard in key states for the Bush-Cheney campaign. Sherine El-Abd is a member of New Jersey’s Steering Committee to re-elect the President. El-Abd’s activity in the Republican Party includes her five years of service as president of the Women’s GOP Club of Middlesex County and current position on the New Jersey Civil Rights Commission.
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| President Bush with Sherine El-Abd |
Councilman John Akouri, who is the former Press Secretary and Director of Communications for Michigan Congressman Joe Knollenberg, chairs the Oakland County Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.
At the Arab American Institute’s October 2003 National Leadership Conference, Bush-Cheney campaign chair Governor Marc Racicot said of President Bush’s relationship with the Arab American community: “I doubt that there has been a president in the history of the United States that has been available and ready to learn, and to listen, more than this president has to the Arab American community.”
