Washington Wrap: Perplexing Poll Numbers, Another ‘New’ Ad

• A new Elway poll has Sen. Patty Murray leading Dino Rossi by 13 points — 51 to 38 percent — among likely voters, with 11 percent still undecided. When “leaning” voters are taking into account, Murray leads 55 to 40 percent.

These results are in striking contrast to those of the latest Fox News poll that show Rossi with a one point lead — 47 to 46 percent, with zero percent “not sure,” not to mention last week’s Rasmussen poll that had Rossi leading 48 to 46 percent, with just two percent “not sure.”

So, which is it? Does this race promise to be “one of the hottest contests of the fall” (Fox News)? Has Rossi “edged ahead” (Rasmussen)? Or is Patty Murray simply “solidifying her lead,” with “not enough undecided voters left” to put Rossi over the top (Elway)?

• Meanwhile, Rossi is hoping to cash in on an evolving theme — amid revelations of Murray’s cozy relationship with lobbyists — that 18 years in Washington has “changed” her, with this new ad:

Which seems almost indistinguishable from his previous ads, like this one:

And this one:

Might be nice to see Rossi take a page out of Wisconsin Senate hopeful Ron Johnson’s playbook and actually appear in one of his own ads. Not to make to much of a comparison here, but nearly all of Johnson’s ads in this campaign have been unique, memorable, and above all personal (see examples here, here and here). On the other hand, Rossi’s are completely generic, almost fill-in-the-blank. Seems like you could trade out Murray and Rossi’s names for any other set of candidates this cycle. Will be interesting to so how they fare in Thursday’s debate.