By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier The re-election of Pres. Bush is not expected to result in any substantial changes in U.S.- Armenia relations during the next four years. Pres. Bush will most probably have his hands full for some time to come dealing with other more pressing issues that would command his full attention. Nevertheless, should unexpected complications arise with the Bush Administration regarding Armenian issues, Armenian-Americans can try to resolve them by: 1) Working with their Democratic and Republican friends in the House and the Senate; and 2) Using the connections that some Armenian-Americans have developed with Bush Administration officials as a result of their support for Pres. Bush in the presidential election. Since most Turkish-Americans, just like most Armenian-Americans, backed the candidacy of Sen. Kerry, the Bush Administration is not expected to favor either one of these communities simply because of their votes on November 2nd. It is noteworthy, however, that one of the most respectable journalists in Turkey, Mehmet Ali Birand, wrote an opinion column on Pres. Bush's re-election in the Nov. 4, 2004 issue of the Turkish Daily News with the following headline: "Osama bin Laden is very happy with the results." He went on to say, "Ankara is [also] happy with the results." Birand does not explain the reasons why both Osama and Ankara are happy with Bush's re-election and what the two have in common! I would also like to mention the following incredible statement made by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul: "We are Turks. If necessary, we burn a whole quilt for a flea!" According to the Nov. 4, 2004 issue of the Turkish newspaper Zaman on-line, Gul made that statement in a letter he sent to the European Union, complaining about parts of the report issued by the EU on Turkey's application for membership. Foreign Minister Gul's undiplomatic and threatening statement should be reason enough to disqualify Turkey from the European Union! It does not look like this "modern" and "European" Turkish official is much different from his Ottoman predecessors! Armenians, on the other hand, were much more gracious and diplomatic. As a routine protocol as well as a positive gesture, the President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, sent a letter to Pres. Bush last week congratulating him on his re-election. Similar congratulatory letters were sent by various Armenian-American organizations, including the Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National Committee of America. One major positive by-product of the presidential campaign was the fact that, for the first time, the Armenian-American community was very extensively involved in practically all aspects of the election. In addition to issuing political endorsements of candidates by Armenian-American political organizations, Armenian individuals contributed heavily to the campaigns of both Pres. Bush and Sen. Kerry. In addition, hundreds of Armenian-Americans were involved in day-to-day campaign activities, everything from manning phone banks, going door to door in various states, sending supportive postcards to Armenians in swing states, organizing campaign events, etc. This is a far cry from previous presidential elections when most Armenian-Americans would just sit back, waiting to see if the winning candidate would keep the promises he made to them during the campaign. Armenian-Americans were not just voters in the 2004 elections. More than a dozen Armenian-Americans were candidates for various political offices. I am happy to report that most of them were successful in getting elected or re-elected: Congressional races: The two Armenian-American members of the House of Representative, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY), were re-elected; State Senate races: State Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-CA) won, joining Chuck Poochigian and Jackie Speier in the California State Senate; while candidates Harry Haytayan (R-NH) and Danny Tarkanian (R-NV) lost; State Assembly races: Greg Aghazarian (R-CA), Brad Avakian (D-OR), John Garfield (R-MI), John Fresolo (D-MA), John Geragosian (D-CT), Rachel Kaprielian (D-MA), Peter Koutoujian (D-MA), and Jim Miceli (D-MA) were elected or re-elected; while Rita Topalian (R-CA), Aida Aloian (R-PA), and Jasper Bedrosian (R-RI) lost their bids; Mayoral races: Scott Avedisian (Warwick, RI) and Kirk Cartozian (Downey, CA) were successfully re-elected. In order to accomplish the political objectives of the Armenian-American community, Armenians must be actively involved in political campaigns and help elect Armenians as well as supportive non-Armenians. Even though for many Armenian-Americans their preferred presidential candidate did not win, they nevertheless made good progress and gained significant capital in terms of heightened political participation and experience, which they would hopefully be able to convert to future victories.

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