( CNN ) -- Last week , the `` Republican War on Women '' morphed into the `` Democrat War on Mommies . '' The shots that started both wars were fired by two commentators , Rush Limbaugh and Hilary Rosen . Whose words were worse ? Rush wins that contest , in my book . His words were offensive in and of themselves . Hilary 's words were offensive because the context they were used in led people to see them as a slight to stay-at-home moms . Later in the week , Mitt Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom and President Obama adviser David Axelrod got into a Twitter duel , or maybe we should just call it tweet-for-tat . Fehrnstrom took umbrage with recent anti-Ann Romney comments made by comedian and Obama donor Bill Maher . Axelrod , in turn , accused Fehrnstrom of `` studied outrage . '' If the outrage was studied , it came straight from the Democrats ' playbook . What we learned in Limbaugh-gate was then applied to Rosen-gate . The lessons will be with us for other campaigns to follow . When Rush made his comments attacking Sandra Fluke , Republicans were slow to react . It was n't until days after that more Republican voices started to publicly disagree with what he 'd said . Romney finally gave a tepid answer saying it was n't the language he would have used . Democrats were quick and skillful in branding Rush 's words with the Republican label , which they stamped on every Republican running for anything in America . The presidential candidates all disagreed with his claims but were left to pay the price . It took several days for Rush to apologize and only after a national boycott of his radio show , leaving some to perceive the apology as economically motivated . What began as a strong Republican defense of religious liberties turned into an epic battle for women 's rights . Democrats cleverly coined it the `` War on Women . '' It was a brilliant move . Polls showed a gender gap favoring Obama of as much as 20 points . Both camps understand the election can hinge on who women support and how many of us turn out . Obama hosted a women 's forum in the White House . Romney began using multiple rows of women as backdrops at his events . He held a roundtable with women , and his campaign organized a women-themed conference call , all within hours of each other . Both candidates engaged in a blatantly political chess game to outmaneuver each other to show their feminine side . Just then , Democrat strategist Hilary Rosen said in an interview that Ann Romney `` has never worked a day in her life . '' Republicans gave Democrats a taste of their own medicine . It took minutes for GOP operatives to denounce the `` War on Mommies '' and spring into action pinning Rosen 's words on Obama 's . Democrats wasted no time either . They triple dissed her -- disowned , disagreed and distanced . In less than 24 hours , President Obama , Michelle Obama , Joe Biden and every campaign staffer from David Axelrod to the lowliest intern was disavowing Rosen 's statement . Hilary herself learned from Rush what not to do . She apologized quickly , sincerely and repeatedly . She put her ego aside , not easy for any of us in the business of politics , and recognized the best course of action for her party was not to add fuel to the fire by endlessly defending herself . She canceled a scheduled appearance on Meet the Press . Political messaging has become an art form . It matters less if outrage is genuine or exaggerated and more that it is believable and contagious . Amid all the carefully contrived women frenzy , the substance of the issues can end up lost on the battlefield . Unfortunately , we have n't spent nearly as much time clearly articulating what the candidates are specifically proposing to improve women 's lives as we have hurling accusations and making declarations of war . In the not-too-distant future , political science classes will compare these two incidents as case studies in political crisis management 101 . Humans make mistakes . In today 's world , any gaffe can go viral in minutes and turn into a major issue . It 's crucial to react immediately , express strongly worded disagreement and regret , and then recede in hopes it will die quickly in the ever-churning news cycle . The other side should pounce on every opportunity to turn an unfortunate choice of words into an all-out war over a noble cause or demographic group and fan the flames of outrage and rebellion . In the meantime , all of us engaged in punditry will be reciting the Analysts ' Prayer : `` Dear Lord , Please keep me from saying things I will regret , words I 'd rather forget . Let me give views , not make news . If I fail , let me be wise and quickly apologize . '' The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ana Navarro .
Ana Navarro : In recent weeks we 've seen two commentators face firestorm of criticism . She says Mitt Romney 's forces were slow to respond to Rush Limbaugh attack on Sandra Fluke . Obama 's team responded with ferocity to Hilary Rosen 's comments , Navarro says . Navarro : Responding quickly is essential , but substance is getting lost in rhetorical wars .