My sister Anne is quite the amateur landlord, renting out my grandmother's vacation home to the well-heeled. She relates this anecdote:
I've had some interesting conversations with potential tenants, especially recently. The first thing which stands out is that EVERYONE wants to meet me. They even want to take me to lunch. That is definitely a southern thing. I can't imagine the desire to meet a landlord being as strong in the North. But, here's the interesting part: I KNOW I am talking to Republicans on the phone, but they aren't as Republican as they think they are. I wish the Dems could really realize this.
For example, I just spoke with a woman from Birmingham. Her daughter knows the girl who disappeared in Aruba. She was FURIOUS that the government of Aruba wouldn't let U.S. guys come in and investigate. I said, "Well, what if the situation was reversed; can you imagine the U.S. allowing officials from Aruba to investigate here?"Then, we talked about America's reputation in the international community. All of a sudden,this woman 'got it.' She suddenly could see that it is the 'little people' who get the shaft with this Administration, whether you are a missing girl or a soldier. She could see that the way we treat others can come back to haunt us (Geneva Conventions, missing girls in foreign countries, etc.). She also told me how frustrated she was at not being able to hear/read 'real news' while at the same time telling me that she was 'afraid using the internet was too hard.' I told her how easy it was and how wonderful it was to have access to the numerous topics not mentioned on TV. I gave her the recent example of Condi lying on FOX News about the 'Generational Commitment' and how quickly bloggers provided proof that this was BS [see below].
She was hooked. She wanted to learn more. She didn't want to be in the dark. This reminded me of a Bill Clinton quote. It went something like, "I love a debate based on facts because I can always win."
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