Does anyone ever wonder whether Arab-Americans vote Republican or Democrat? Recently we have heard frequent reports spotlighting fast growing populations of Arabs and Muslims in the United States, in some cases with estimates of American Muslims surpassing Jews (some 4 million people). Now, if this were true, would we not expect that Arab-Americans – or at least Muslim Americans – would have the numbers to generate a political clout dwarfing the Jewish lobby in America?

Perhaps so, but numbers mean nothing if they are just sitting there, which is what Arab-American voters have been doing for many years now. Arab-Americans simply do not vote in elections, their rationale being that "the Zionists and their lackeys will do what they please", regardless of their participation. That has been more than enough for the American political system to completely dismiss Arab-Americans as a group with any significance whatsoever. Consequently, this has left the agendas of the candidates for the presidential elections free for them to harp on whatever they choose, without concern for what Arab-Americans have to say. Perhaps the first presidential candidate who acknowledged the existence of "Middle Eastern Americans" was Democrat Bill Bradley. I thanked him for that gesture in a brief chat, and his eyes lit up when I mentioned it, which probably goes to show that reciprocation has its positive results.

Unfortunately, Bill Bradley is not one of the candidates who are still standing today. Instead, the choice is between Republican George W. Bush, who refuses to admit to what everyone else already knows (how ironically Clinton-esque), and Democrat Al Gore, who has confessed his sins but can’t seem to shake off the image of "White-House-equals-Temple-to-His-Ethereal-Clintonness".

All things considered, the leading candidates have little to offer the Arab-American voter who maintains aspirations for his or her country of origin. Republican Gary Bauer, who spoke to the Republican Jewish Committee late last year in an effort to impress Jewish voters, classically displayed this conformity. Anticipating a question that would somehow affect the well being of American voters, Bauer was first asked if he would support moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Bauer looked around and replied, "I guess I should say ‘Yes’ to that, right?"

The chuckling audience was hardly impressed.

The remaining candidates differ ever so slightly. George W. Bush strikes you as the kind of American President that disappeared when Bill Clinton was elected in 1992. His web site first stated that he wanted to improve ties with "pro-American Arab countries" while achieving a peace in the Middle East that guarantees "a safe and secure Israel". Like father, like son, Bush Junior has now changed the tone to say that he "would work to reestablish weapons inspections in Iraq" (strike one), and that he "Supports moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem… immediately upon taking office" (strike two). These are in addition to Bush’s Cold-War-like obsession with controlling every movement made by Russia, denying privileges currently provided to China as a "strategic partner", and refusing to submit US forces to UN supervision.

Gore, on the other hand, has opted for a different approach, customizing a standard message to American families with clauses particular to specific minority groups, including Arab Americans and the Jewish community. One may hasten to credit Gore with actually recognizing Arab-Americans as a true minority, but a closer inspection reveals that Gore does this by "striving for a fair and just peace in the Middle East", and by co-chairing the U.S.-Egyptian Partnership for Economic Growth and Development. Forget any mention of media relations or the use of "secret evidence" by the U.S. government to indict would-be terrorists. The rest of the promotion is uniform, discussing Gore’s achievements in promoting civil and religious liberties, crime reduction, education, and health care. Meanwhile, the section of Gore’s web site supporting the Jewish community details military assistance to Israel to maintain its "military advantage", organizing the Counterterrorism Conference of Sharm El-Shaikh, securing $100 million in emergency aid to combat terrorism, and building economic ties with Israel by fighting the Arab boycott.

Somebody here got a raw deal.

Countless other examples abound of politicians ignoring the Middle Eastern community in this country. Americans of Arab and Muslim descent in this country are consistently left out of the political process because they lack any significant lobbying pressure, being so fragmented in their distributions. Perhaps this is why Middle Eastern Americans do not even count as an official minority; they do not seem to care about it, either. Hate crimes against Arabs, both Muslim and Christian, persist with little or no reaction. There are few concerted efforts that aim to garner public support for issues affecting Arab-Americans, mostly because of fear of reprisal.

The balance is tipping in favor of Bush, who in all likelihood would be unable to locate the Middle East on a map. Nevertheless, he offers the American public the charisma and familiarity of his father; he can more or less say the right thing at the right time, which is about enough for the average American voter these days. Image is everything in political campaigns, and until Arab-Americans take a more grassroots approach towards lobbying community support for their causes, Congressmen, Senators and politicians will continue to vote anti-Arab in the exclusive chambers of Washington, D.C.’s government buildings.