The latest in a never-ending series of gaffes from the RNC chairman:

Having already lost control of Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008, the party has been battered in recent months with admissions of infidelity by two prominent party members -- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Nevada Sen. John Ensign -- and the surprising announcement by former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin that she will resign as Alaska's governor at the end of the month.

All three had been viewed as possible GOP presidential candidates in 2012.

Steele on Wednesday brushed off the recent incidents as "old news, old school."

"That's not the generation of candidates I'm trying to groom, he said.

Given that Palin is basically in a statistical tie with Romney and Huckabee for the pole position in the 2012 primary, it's not clear why Steele keeps shooting his mouth off about a favorite among the rank and file, but he'd be well advised to zip it. Also, it would be helpful if Steele could just let us know which candidates he is grooming so that the party can quarantine them in case the stupidity is contagious.

Update: There are two versions of this story on the IndyStar website -- one here and the other here. The second story, which seems to be an update, rewrites the key line above: "Steele on Wednesday brushed off the recent incidents involving Sanford and Ensign as 'old news, old-school.'" (emphasis mine) If Steele was simply referring to Sanford and Ensign, as it now seems, then no harm no foul. Also, Greg Sargent offers a defense of Steele's remarks here, noting that "it looks like Steele wasn’t talking about Palin."