Arab American candidate says politics key to assimilation

Three million Arabs are in this country and this sounds like a terrific way for them to become more involved in their communities. DP

By Caroline Drees

Reuters.com : BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Michigan (Reuters) - Arab Americans should become more involved in politics by running for office as part of efforts to assimilate, the only Arab American running for the U.S. Senate this year said.

Michael Bouchard, a sheriff in suburban Oakland County whose grandfather emigrated to the United States from Lebanon, is seeking the Michigan Republican nomination to run against incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow in the November mid-term elections.

"The Arab American community has always focused on family and entrepreneurial efforts and they need to collectively also become involved in the political process and the activity of being involved in their government," Bouchard told Reuters in an interview in Bloomfield Hills, outside Detroit, this week.

"I encourage them to join a party, regardless of the party. I encourage them to get involved in a campaign. I encourage them to think about running for office. A part of any culture assimilating is participating," he said.

Bouchard is the front-runner of three Republican candidates, and trails about 10 points behind Stabenow in recent polls. The Michigan Republican primary is in August.

The number of Arab Americans hovers around 3 million, or just over 1 percent of the U.S. population. But they have traditionally been less involved in government than other immigrant groups, although the trend has shifted, not the least since the September 11 attacks.

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