Arab-American electorate holds political sway in Mich.
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ali Dagher and Belal Abdallah came here as kids, brought by parents looking for the opportunities that abounded in the boom years of the 1970s.
Dagher and Abdallah, Muslims whose families are from Lebanon, became fast friends here in the city with the nation's largest concentration of Arab Americans.
They achieved success beyond their dreams, Dagher as a lawyer and Abdallah as a doctor of internal medicine. Now they are the only two among their immigrant friends left in Michigan.
"We came here for two reasons — economic opportunity and liberty — and now we have neither," says Dagher, 42. He talks about the poor economy and sees erosion of Arab Americans' civil liberties since 9/11. "Everybody else has left because there are more opportunities overseas."
Both men say they will vote for Democrat Barack Obama for president.
It's mostly the economy
Arab Americans overwhelmingly cite the economy and the continuing loss of jobs as reasons they want to see a change in Washington and Obama leading that change. In addition, a deep dismay with the policies of President Bush, particularly on the Middle East and the war in Iraq, is leading them to turn away from Republican John McCain and his support for the Iraq war.
In a national poll last month by the Arab American Institute, the economy and job security was the leading issue for Arab Americans, named by 63%. Fifty-two percent said Obama was best equipped to deal with the economy; 34% said McCain would do better. The war in Iraq was the top issue for 37%.
The poll of 500 Arab Americans gave Obama a 54%-33% lead over McCain. Throw in the Independent and Green Party candidates and Obama's lead slips to 46%-32%.
"There is more enthusiasm at the grass-roots level for him," says James Zogby, executive director of the institute.
Michigan is home to the second-largest population of Arab Americans in the nation, after California. In 2007, the Census estimated 1.5 million people of Arab ancestry in the country, 157,000 of them in Michigan. In Dearborn, 30% of residents are Arab American.
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