By Chris Newth, PWTorch specialist & political analyst

Linda McMahon's new "Cup of Tea" TV ad is a piece of careful political consideration. From a political standpoint, it appears to be a successful spot that strikes the right note, and every second of it was meticulously crafted in an attempt to mend her weaknesses. The ad was calculated and defensive, but it could help.

Just look at this ad. Forget the actual dialogue for a second and notice the visuals: the setting, the people, the vehicle. The commercial opens in an upper middle-class suburban neighborhood as two middle-aged women chat about Linda as a potential Senator in their kid-friendly SUV.

The conversation between the women gives the impression that although they don't care at all for wrestling, they do admire McMahon for expanding a corporation globally - an explicit touting of her business acumen. The spot ends by splashing a second of very mild comedy with both women crooning "Ohh yeahhhh" together. A quick shot of Linda smiling as she chats with another woman eye-to-eye wraps it up with the traditional "I approve this message" tag.

Say what you will about the content of the message and the truth that may lie beneath the surface. My concern here is exclusively on the political implications involved. And to that end, McMahon hit the right note with this campaign ad.

The setting and characters in the spot targeted a demographic that she desperately needs. It was light-hearted and lead somewhere. The story of the ad began with hints of skepticism and uncertainty with one of the women pointing out the "wrestling stuff" (a great way to phrase it politically, by the way, so that it sounds irrelevant and overblown). Quickly, it transitioned into both women being in full agreement about McMahon, to the point where they shared the last line in synchronized fashion.

Now that it's been dissected, consider the background on the state of her campaign as it stands now, and it will be abundantly clear why she chose to create "Cup of Tea."

Despite the ongoing volatile political atmosphere in the country, Linda McMahon undoubtedly has an uphill battle ahead on her. She's running as a Republican in a heavy blue northeastern state. Even the latest conservative-leaning Rasmussen poll this week has her trailing state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal by thirteen percentage points in a general election match-up.

Rasmussen also reports that "Male voters break roughly even between Blumenthal and any of the GOP candidates, while women overwhelmingly support the Democrat." That certainly explains her new strategy, unequivocally evidenced in her latest ad. But McMahon has to walk a fine line. She naturally should pander to the angry right-wing movement that looks to take control of the House come November.

But at the same time, she's an establishment Republican - not a Tea Party candidate. And because she desperately wants to ride the potential conservative wave, she downplays the very issues that might help her attract more female voters in her state, such as her stance on abortion rights. According to her own website, she's pro-choice. If she touts her liberal stance on abortion, she may lose more of her base than she gains in new votes from moderates and independents.

Another key weakness for McMahon: her stilted, rigid demeanor. And what did this ad do? It gave her one line, and on the radio no less. Yes, it still sounded stiff and unemotional, but they created the ad using actors to mask this element. Every word she says comes across as overly polished and edited, completely unnatural. This ad allowed others to do the talking for her, which was also a smart move.

Again, using the conservative Rasmussen polls as a guide can be helpful when analyzing Linda McMahon's political chances in the 2010 midterm election simply because the numbers reported are likely the best she can expect at any given moment. Averages from multiple polling companies show Blumenthal comfortably sitting above 50 percent, while McMahon wallows in the upper 30s.

In terms of voters who are heavily supportive or heavily unsupportive, Rasmussen reports that "For McMahon, Very Favorables are 25 percent and Very Unfavorables 27 percent." If over a quarter of the voting electorate considers McMahon very unfavorable, that rightfully shifts her campaign's message. That's not a shot at competence; it's a character evaluation. And to desperately try to pull that number down, McMahon has to unleash character-defining ads that promote her personality and beliefs rather than attack ads against her democratic opponent.

That seems to be her political strategy right now. She already has the Republican nomination wrapped up as the easy favorite. And this latest advertisement makes it clear that McMahon intends on first lowering her unfavorables, then presumably following up with some offense in the general election.

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