Somewhere, John Ashcroft Weeps Knowing This Will Never Happen To Him

Dean Greeted Warmly by Arab Americans

An assemblage of politically active Arab Americans gave former Vermont governor Howard Dean repeated ovations Saturday at the windup of a two-day meeting that marked a clear shift of allegiance from President Bush to his Democratic rivals.

Dean got by far the warmest response of any of the seven presidential hopefuls who addressed the 300 people attending the national leadership conference of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington-based advocacy group.