Is John Zogby Batman?

Imagine the broad strokes of most comic book plots: Bad Guys surprise Superhero while he's in his alter-ego as a mild-mannered citizen, and abduct the Pretty Girlfriend. Superhero rushes off, changes into his costume. Superhero beats up the Bad Guys, rescues the Pretty Girlfriend, people yell "Who was that masked man?" etc etc.

Now, I know what you're thinking: that sounds exactly like the life of American pollster John Zogby! Well, you're absolutely right.

Zogby gave a lecture earlier this week at American University of Beirut. He is of Lebanese descent, and still maintains close emotional (and business) ties to the Middle East. "It is home," he said of Beirut. His polling firm, Zogby International, does a lot of research in the region. They work in close association with his brother James Zogby, who is the head of The Arab American Institute.

At the same time, it is no secret that public opinion in the United States has not been overwhelmingly positive towards Arab causes. This has been especially true since 9/11, but American support of Israel goes back to the 1940s. I'm not sure Zogby's professional reputation could survive him making a full-throated declaration of his beliefs. As such, he has to walk an interesting line between his professional role as American pollster and election wizard, and his identity as an Arab man and supporter of Arab causes. He has to switch between his superhero costume of American public opinion guru, and his alter-ego as an Arab man.

Zogby's solution to his problem is to let his research speak for itself, trying to gently nudge American policymakers to adopt a more pro-Arab position. His lecture was titled "Love, Hate, Envy or Respect: Recent Trends in Arab and American Public Opinion." Essentially, his conclusion was that Arabs and Americans aren't getting along right now because of American policy, not because of any underlying cultural clash. "Good will can be resuscitated," Zogby said, if only American policy would change.

Still, at times, Zogby The Pollster seems to give way to Zogby The Arab Activist. "I have my profession, I have to maintain the purity of my profession," he said, "but I won't shut up." He explained why American public opinion did not support Arab causes by blaming a hazy "high-intensity crowd." In response, two women in the audience yelled, "Who? Name them!" "Say it -- AIPAC!" Zogby finally banged the table and said firmly, "AIPAC."

But, after all, this is Beirut. When he meets with clients in Manhattan and Georgetown, you can be sure that Zogby does his best to keep his identity secret.