The dream, he said, is now divided into four categories. First, there are those who still actively pursue the materialistic aspects of the dream and direct their energies into that goal. Second, more Americans than ever are seeking the dream in self-fulfillment and a secular spirituality rather than in participating in the long-established competition of seeing who can "collect the most toys" over their lifetime.

The final two categories, he said, consist of those who still have hope for simply improving their lives followed by the ones who have surrendered in the daily struggle for self-improvement and become satisfied with mere survival.

The congenial pollster said he believes that Barack Obama was popular with 19- to 30-year-olds not so much because he was the first African American on a major party ticket but because he was that first "cool guy" to seek the presidency. Obama, he added, is neither a Baby Boomer nor a Generation Xer. Rather, he is a globalist who has lived on four continents.

"He ran as a problem solver and a consensus builder," said Zogby. Which is what Americans wanted.

Zogby, who described himself as a Christian, said the transformation by many Americans from materialists to those following secular spirituality as their priority was comparable to a "come-to-Jesus moment as when Saul was knocked off his horse on the road to Damascus." That drew a peal of laughter from the attentive audience.

Among the other comments Zogby made during his hourlong address:

There is a rapidly growing acceptance of higher education at a distance using the Internet as its primary resource.

"Huge, tectonic changes" since the 1970s, such as the Watergate scandal and the Hurricane Katrina debacle, have shaken Americans' confidence in government and led them to seek politicians who can unify and problem-solve. "People are saying make changes [to the old ways] or else."

The stimulus appropriations "are not popular with the American people. There was never a consensus. . . . We might agree on the need for health care reform, but not on how to achieve it."

He said that when Obama decided to turn over the stimulus issue to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid (the crowd reacted with mumbles at the mention of those names), "The president did just what the American people did not want."

Americans today have unrealistically high expectations and are scared-with every right to be in light of one crisis after another, Zogby said, adding: "Now we have swine flu. Are locusts next?"

People are angry, but not as angry as they were following the presidential election of 2004. (I suppose I should insert here that, while I'm no pollster, from all I am hearing around me in Northwest Arkansas, as opposed to D.C. or the East Coast, there is abundant and growing anger over the ineffectiveness, greed and arrogance of government in general.)

All in all, after selling and signing copies of his book about this changing American dream, John Zogby left the Durand Center last week with most folks in the audience probably glad they'd come to hear a largely positive message, yet still deeply uncertain and concerned about what the future holds for our nation and our individual liberties.