By: Liz Farmer

Let the mud (or oil?) slinging begin. If you haven’t heard it by now, click here to listen to a Gov. Martin O’Malley campaign ad bashing his Republican competitor, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, for being pro oil.

Seizing upon the emotion surrounding the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the ad repeatedly uses clips of Ehrlich saying “drill baby, drill” and intersperses those with factoids about the spill.

The commercial also asks why Ehrlich, an attorney with firm Womble Carlyle, supports oil companies. The quote inserted is Ehrlich’s voice saying, “Life’s good. We made money — a lot of money.”

According to WBAL, the quote in the ad is taken from an interview Ehrlich did earlier this year in which he talks only about his work since leaving office in January 2007. To see Ehrlich’s video response to the ad, in which he calls the commercial irresponsible and ludicrous, click here.

It would seem that O’Malley might be nervous about keeping his job this fall. He’s striking out with a negative campaign ad — and not just any ad. A pretty out-there one (when I first heard it on the radio, I started laughing).

What do you think?