Matt Lewis is asking whether a new Christine O’Donnell television ad rips off an ad run to support Sharron Angle in Nevada.

I find myself in the weird position of . . . defending O’Donnell. I actually don’t think the similarities are that big a deal. Campaign ad folks are always looking for ideas and formats that work. A few years ago it was morphing your opponent into someone else; this year we’ve seen a lot more wacky humor.

If O’Donnell’s team thinks the Angle ad is effective against her longtime-incumbent opponent, I’m not too surprised that they would make their own version to hit their longtime incumbent opponent. Yes, maybe the graphics and tone and issues are eerily similar, but . . . they’re probably hearing the same thing from Nevada and Delaware voters when they test out the messages.