Want a preview of the hyper-speed political warfare that will mark the general election campaign? Look no farther than a skirmish, conducted first on Twitter and later everywhere else, that erupted Wednesday night over a Democratic strategist’s accusation that Ann Romney has “never worked a day in her life.”

It started on CNN, when Hilary Rosen, a longtime Democratic operative, appeared in a segment alongside fellow Democrat Paul Begala and conservative blogger Erick Erickson.  Rosen denounced Republicans for — she claimed — wrongly attributing the phrase “war on women” to Democrats.  And then, Rosen said this: