Notice also when the hit pieces came out Haley did not go to Mitt to defend her. She went straight to Palin for her defense. a facebook post and a robocall from Palin soon followed. Mitt never got the 3:00am call.
I think Mitt believed his book and the signing tour would ignite his campaign. It didn't. When he came to Birmingham, MI (a Detroit suburb and his boyhood home), he attracted about 400 and got little media attention. In some cities only drew about 100. He couldn't even sell out in Salt Lake City.
Palin opened in Grand Rapids and that set the tone (people camping out overnight, major media coverage, etc.).