Two new spots here. The second is a remake of — and vast improvement upon — this trainwreck, cutting the running time by two thirds and employing a lighter touch to make the write-in lesson seem less pedantic. The first is the buzzworthy one, though, basically accusing Joe Miller of being a prop of those highfalutin California city slickers in the tea party. Quickie fact check: Miller was born in Kansas and moved to Alaska 16 years ago because the thought of working in a big east coast law firm wasn’t as enticing as living in the great outdoors. For fun, he hunts elk with his eight kids. And he is, of course, famously more conservative than she is, a trait not often associated with California. This is the guy whom Murky would have you believe is set to deliver Alaska’s precious Senate seat into the hands of Beverly Hills or whatever. Unbelievable.

There’s a common thread in these ads, actually, but if you blink while watching the second one, you’ll miss it. Note the teacher’s reference to how “outsiders” don’t think Alaskans are smart enough to spell Murkowski’s name. “Outside,” as I understand it, is a term commonly used in Alaska to refer to the lower 48, so the second ad’s actually affirming the insinuation of the first one — that Miller’s some sort of egghead carpetbagger who’s not as fond of the state as she is. Good work, Murky. At this rate, in another week or two, you’ll be giving Grayson’s ads a run for their money.

Latest numbers, by the way: Miller 43, McAdams 28, Murkowski 18, although I’m unfamiliar with the pollster and thus don’t know how credible they are. An important detail, though:

An additional 18 percent volunteered that they would vote for Murkowski, since they knew she was running a write-in candidacy to keep her seat,

Moore then asked a follow-up question to the 82 percent of the people who didn’t volunteer Murkowski, “as you may know, Lisa Murkowski is running a write-in campaign for U.S. Senate. Knowing this, would your vote for U.S. Senate stay the same or would you write-in Lisa Murkowski?”

Just over 30 percent of those said they would write in Murkowski. That — combined with the people who volunteered her name — would put Murkowski in the lead with 43.5 percent, followed by Miller with 35.8 percent and McAdams with 13.7 percent, according to Moore.

Exit question: Is Miller maybe feeling a little too confident right now? Easy there, big guy.