The TV campaign advertisements of late have been refreshingly positive and benign. What a contrast to the mudslinging seen in the closing days of the gubernatorial primaries.

We have Senate Republican candidate Linda McMahon's good friend telling us what a great person she is and that she would make a great senator. (Hey, what are friends for). Of course, McMahon is still firing away at her opponent in a blizzard of mail.

In another commercial a group of unidentified people vouch for the integrity and loyalty of Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley. (Unlike those angry people who blamed Foley for their job losses in commercials that ran during the primary campaign.)

In his commercial, Democrat Dan Malloy, the other major party candidate for governor, reminds viewers of his working class roots. The message: He's one of us. Meanwhile, a smiling Richard Blumenthal, the Democrat opposing McMahon in the Senate race, stands by Long Island Sound and reminds everyone, once again, that he fights for them. He stopped plans to anchor the Broadwater natural gas platform in the Sound and he will fight to strip away tax breaks for those nasty oil companies, the attorney general tell us.

It won't last.

As Election Day draws near, trailing candidates will decide they have to raise their opponent's "negative numbers" and the attack ads will begin. The other campaigns or their surrogates will retaliate. And by Nov. 2 voters will once again be wondering why they want to vote for any of these people.

So enjoy the tranquility while it lasts, before your TV again goes toxic.