Still no love lost between Lisa Murkowski and Sarah Palin

It's no secret that Lisa Murkowski and Sarah Palin simply can't stand each other. One of the biggest political risks the former Alaska Gov. Palin took in the 2010 campaign was trying to oust the senator, her longtime rival. Now looking in good shape to win re-election as a write-in candidate, Murkowski is striking back at Palin, again.

In an interview with CBS's Katie Couric, Murkowski said she could never support Palin for president because she lacks "those leadership qualities, that intellectual curiosity" necessary to build good policy.

"She was my governor for two years, for just about two years there, and I don't think that she enjoyed governing," Murkowski told CBS. "I don't think she liked to get down into the policy. I want somebody who goes to bed at night and wakes up in the morning thinking about how we're going to deal with our national security issues, how we're going to deal with our economy, how we're going to deal with providing better education."

You can watch video of the Murkowski interview here.

The bad blood between Palin and Murkowski dates back nearly a decade. In 2002, Palin, who was then mayor of Wasilla, narrowly lost a bid to be the state's lieutenant governor, but she was rumored to be the party's top choice to replace Gov.-elect Frank Murkowski, Lisa's father, in the Senate. Instead, he chose his daughter for the job.

In 2004, Palin openly considered challenging Sen. Lisa Murkowski but wound up endorsing Murkowski's primary rival (who lost). Two years later, Palin challenged Gov. Frank Murkowski and won. When Palin resigned the governor's job in 2009, Lisa Murkowski issued a statement professing to be "disappointed" that Palin had decided to "abandon the state and her constituents."

Earlier this year, Palin threw her full backing behind Joe Miller in Alaska's GOP Senate primary, frequently trashing Lisa Murkowski in messages on Facebook—including one that called Murkowski a RINO (Republican in name only). Murkowski, in launching her write-in bid against Miller in September, took another not-so-subtle dig at Palin, vowing to be a "Republican woman who won't quit on Alaska."

Asked about their contacts today, Murkowski said they simply don't talk. "We don't really have much of a relationship," she sad. "We have common interests in a shared love for our state. … But in fairness, she is not really that keyed into the state anymore. She is looking, obviously, at a bigger pond, and so we don't see her up north as much."

(Photo of Palin and Murkowski in 2009: Chris Miller/AP)