Matt Romney took a swipe at Sarah Palin yesterday, and there are signs that perhaps he’s not the only member of the GOP hoping the Alaska governor would go away.

During an appearance on CNN Sunday, Romney was asked about Time Magazine’s inclusion of Palin and firebrand conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh in its latest "The World’s Most Influential People" edition. The former Massachusetts governor and Republican president hopeful was asked whether that was good or bad for his party.

"I think there are a lot more influential Republicans than that [Time list] would suggest," Romney said. "But was that the issue on the most beautiful people or the most influential people? … I’m not sure. If it’s the most beautiful, I understand. We’re not real cute.”

But there’s little doubt Republicans want the media to focus on them and issues of substance, rather than Palin and her Bristol-Levi baby drama, or other non-political news. From Politico:

Romney’s quip reflects the deep unease among many in the GOP establishment about the continued high-profile of Limbaugh and especially Palin. There is almost a sense of exasperation among many party elites over the media coverage the two polarizing figures get — attention which, in Palin’s case, is widely seen as a product largely of her good looks and tabloid-fodder family troubles. ‘She’s bigger in the media than in reality,’ lamented GOP consultant Mike Murphy, a longtime friend and adviser to John McCain. ‘Palin is the only Republican politician right now who is interesting, a little different, connected to the last campaign and related to an occasional story in the National Enquirer.’"

Not many days go by these days without Palin in the news. Today, The Anchorage Daily News reports that the former vice presidential candidate is supporting a measure that would make it illegal for Alaska teenagers to get an abortion without telling their parents. Planned Parenthood is protesting the initiative.

Then, there’s video making its way around the Internet today of Palin’s recent address before an Indiana right-to-life group, in which she said she considered aborting her baby, Trigg, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. She learned at 13 weeks along in her pregnancy that her baby had an "abnormality."

"That blew me away. It just rocked my world. And to be honest with you, I had a heck of a time putting my arms around the idea of first having a baby at age 44 who was facing "challenges. It was a time I had to ask myself, was I gonna walk the walk or was I just gonna talk the talk?" Palin said, obviously struggling with the story.

She said she had a "fleeting moment" when she understood why someone would choose abortion (although she never said the word), "just make it go away and get some normalcy back in life — just take care of it … no one would know, but I would know."

Watch part of Palin’s address below: