The 2012 election season, while allegedly two years out, is underway! (Ugh.) So get used to more of the silliness we witnessed today: some anonymous Palin and Romney aides "sparred" and Romney himself had to cool things down, on Twitter.

A "Romney intimate" (gross) finally lost it and had to explain something very obvious to a reporter:

In possibly the first inter-staff dust-up of the 2012 presidential race, an aide of Sarah Palin is hitting back at Mitt Romney's camp for saying the former Alaska governor is "not a serious human being."

A "Romney intimate" was quoted by "Time" magazine's Mark Halperin in a Thursday column as saying that Palin could not withstand the rigors of a presidential campaign.

"If she's standing up there in a debate and the answers are more than 15 seconds long, she's in trouble," the Romney intimate said.

Well said, not even arguable. But the "Palin people" were furious about this sniping, and dispatched one of their anonymous aides to condemn "anonymous aides" who talk to reporters. This paragraph is perfect:

"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.

Romney ultimately had to take to the pages of Twitter and play daddy. How conciliatory and gentlemanly of him. Someone's going to get a spanking tonight, and definitely no dessert.

20+ more months of this, folks.