Palin, Romney Get In First Cat Fight of 2012 Election

Apparently everyone   decided yesterday was the start of the 2012 presidential election, and Mark Halperin of Time (or as Politico calls it, "Time" magazine, snarkily) reported that a "Romney intimate" (GROSS!) does not believe Sarah Palin is a "'serious human being," correctly. So Politico called up a Palin intimate (ALSO GROSS), and that person does not like these comments at all! The person called it "frankly immature," and probably knows something about frank immaturity, being a "longtime Palin aide." And thus we have an election on our hands.

Halperin:

Some of the other would-be candidates and their senior advisers have known Palin over the years, primarily from her days as governor, but most have literally never met her or had a substantive talk with her. That is a strange situation to say the least; it forces them to evaluate her without any direct insight into her strengths and weaknesses.

Perhaps it's best not to assume she is able to do things such as "substantive talk," candidates.

Still, few express much regard for Palin's ultimate chances. One adviser to Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and, by traditional standards, the putative 2012 frontrunner, says of Palin, "She's not a serious human being." Another Romney intimate warns, "If she's standing up there in a debate and the answers are more than 15 seconds long, she's in trouble."

Sounds about right. But "frankly immature!" Take it, Palin aide:

“It shocks me that anyone would try to do that,” the aide said. “You’d think we’d all be working together toward a common goal — that being 2010 — and that should be the focus right now. Those who try to claim the mantle of Reagan would be good to follow one of his most sacred tenets.”

Selling arms to Iran? Funding the contras?

“For Washington consultants to sit around and personally disparage the governor anonymously to reporters is unfortunate and counterproductive and frankly immature,” said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Haha, nice attribution there, Politico: "who spoke on condition of anonymity." How dare that person SIT AROUND and be anonymous?

The Palin adviser also jabbed at Romney for having changed some of his positions and suggested that Romney does not have full “control” of his team.

But perhaps this is not the cat fight of the century YET. Romney tweeted this:  

"Anonymous numbskulls" may sound tame, but that is a major burn for a Mormon. [ TIME / P'o ]