The XX Factor: What women really think.

Campbell Brown Takes on Sarah Palin

At the risk of violating landlord-tenant confidentiality, Dahlia, I want to tell a story that may make you trust Campbell Brown on this.

I once had a new tenant moving into a small Adams Morgan apartment my husband and I owned as an investment. The painter had been a bit sloppy about spattering, and the new renter asked me to have him come back and clean up the now-hardened paint along the baseboard floor. I knew he would drag his feet on completing this chore, so I told the new tenant I preferred not to bother him. She looked at me straight in the eye and asked, "Is this how it's going to be, Bonnie?" My considered answer was, "No, I’ll come personally this Sunday and wash your floor," which I did. After that, Campbell Brown, then a young campaign reporter at NBC, was an ideal tenant, and she and I never had another problem.

I now picture Campbell looking Sarah Palin in the eye with a similar expression and asking her the same question, Gov. Palin, is this how it's going to be? and understand why the McCain campaign is trying so hard to keep them apart.