“If there’s a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative, and doesn’t like her, good luck, good luck.”

Is this a thinly-veiled shot at conservative columnist George Will?

Will reportedly told an audience of Senate aides yesterday that Palin is “obviously not qualified to be president” — and previously referred to McCain as “unpresidential” after saying he would fire the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Christopher Cox.

Never mind that Will is one of the most respected of a dwindling number of true classical conservatives left in this country — McCain appears to be attacking the messenger, rather than addressing the concerns raised by the growing crowd of Palin’s conservative critics. Namely, that Palin’s recent interview performances indicate she has a severe lack of facility with the big issues and is generally unprepared for the big leagues.

So, was McCain attacking Will?

You be the judge.