[tkathy]

Zogby is a Muslim with an agenda.

[DentsRun]

Zogby is a Muslim with an agenda.

I don't know anything about his faith. I just say though that any pollster with an agenda is not going to last very long. His agenda will invariably color his results, as happened for instance with the LA Times poll when it egregiously predicted that the Gray Davis recall would fail at the voting booth (and of course Davis was recalled overwhelmingly). Now, as a result, many people read LA Times poll results with the same amused scepticism as they do the astrology charts. How have Zogby predictions panned out in recent elections (Schwarzenegger versus Bustamante, Bush versus Gore) compared to other pollsters?

[edwin hubble]

"Zogby is a Muslim with an agenda."

Actually, Zogby may be an Arab with an agenda (Lebanese).

I think his religious heritage is Christian (like most Americans of Arab descent).

His biography on the speakers bureau notes his affiliation with Catholic organizations.

[edwin hubble]

"Zogby is a Muslim with an agenda."

Here is an excerpt of an interview of John Zogby, (Christian Lebanese) (from article in American Enterprise, April-May, 2002)

(John Zogby quote):
I'm a child of the first wave [of Arab immigration]. It's predominantly Lebanese and predominantly Christian.

The second wave is much more mixed. The first wave ended in 1940, with the onset of World War II. The second wave didn't really begin until after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, so you have a big hiatus between the two groups. People in the second wave wanted to be recognized as minorities in cities like Dearborn, Michigan, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn.

On the other hand people of my generation were saying, "No, we're white ethnics." Some of that tension is Christian-Muslim and some is first wave vs. second wave. Some of it is status anxiety too. Folks of my generation are saying, "Me, a minority? Look at what I've achieved. I did this without any government help."

With that said, there still is some affinity even among assimilated Christian Arabs toward Pakistanis and toward Indians and toward people of Muslim or Third World background. I feel it myself.

You know, a Pakistani American walks by and I say, "My folks are from Lebanon." And we begin to chat with each other. It's not unlike identifying yourself as a European of some sort.
(end quote)