GOP campaign operative Ed Rollins, who just signed on to manage the presidential campaign of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), made headlines earlier this week when he told Politico that Sarah Palin was not a “serious” Republican presidential candidate. Then it came out that he basically said the same thing about his new boss two months ago.

The veteran consultant — he managed Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign in 1984 — explained to Mother Jones that there was a simple reason for that comment: “That was before she hired me!”

“There are great downsides to having been a political analyst with hundreds of appearances over the years,” he added. [ Mother Jones]