So, will Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's vow to stay positive in her advertising against Democratic gubernatorial opponent Richard Moore change the face of what has been up to now a knock-down-drag-out fuss between Perdue and the state treasurer? Hard to say, because a lot of wounds have been inflicted, and the scars haven't healed.

Perdue, prior to her disclosure that her family and her friends had urged her to pledge positivity, and Moore have been rather like two bobcats tossed into a canvas sack. Both of the bobcats get cut up, the sack is no longer usable, and the other bobcats watching -- in this case Republican candidates who have been running a rather civilized campaign among themselves -- don't get a scratch on 'em. But they figure whichever one of them gets tossed into the general election sack is gonna be fighting a pretty tired bobcat.

Moore's ads have focused on Perdue's support for tuition increases in the state university system and her wheeling and dealing in a long career in the General Assembly. She comes across in the ads as sort of like the Boss, the late Mayor Daley of Chicago. Not very flattering pictures, either.

For Perdue's part, her ads have lambasted Moore's raising money from New York money managers despite being the steward of the state's pension fund -- in which those managers would like to participate -- and thus have called his integrity into question. One wondered if Moore might next have been linked to Jesse James, what with having a lot of cousins and all.

While we of this space applaud Perdue's vow of upbeatness, we can sort of understand why Moore would be a little hesitant to embrace it. (His campaign says he'll continue to use ads criticizing Perdue.) The way Moore looks at it, Perdue is like the kid who comes over to play, pulls your dog's tail and then smiles at your mom and says, "Why, what a delicious cookie." And then your mom urges you to be more like your playmate.

At the same time, Perdue is being pretty savvy here. Try as he might, Moore's not going to be able to make a good case against niceness.

The truth is, before we go further, that there are several people running for governor this time out who are well-qualified, and Moore and Perdue certainly are among them. It's too bad that two good candidates are mixing it up in this way, but so it goes. Or went.

Now, assuming that Moore does have to join Perdue in the positive promise, what are we thereafter likely to see on TV? Might the candidates do a "180" and truly go, well, around the bend?

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is Arnold Anchorman, and we're here interviewing the Democratic candidates for governor. First, I'd like to ask Lt. Gov. Perdue about her vow to be positive. Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Moore has continued to attack you in his ads. Are you sticking with your promise to stay away from such ads yourself?"

"Yes, Arnie, I absolutely am. I just want y'all to know that I think Richard Moore is a good lookin' fellow, and is tall and dark, and he dresses very well and also has very nice teeth and a really good haircut. Now I know what you're thinking. You're waiting for me to say something bad. And I'm not going to, Arnie. No, I am not."

"Well, Lieutenant Governor, the treasurer today again questioned your sincerity, and has noted, again, your support of tuition hikes and your long-time connections to power in the legislature. What say you to that?"

"Arnie, I'm staying positive. I stand by everything I said about Richard. And I'm so happy that he did inherit good looks and a position in the community, you know, and that because of that, he can afford trips to New York to eat at that '21 Club' with his money-manager buddies, and a nice haircut, assuming all the hair is his, of course."

"Thank you. Mr. Moore, you have continued to attack Beverly Perdue. Do you intend to stay with that strategy?"

"Arnie, I don't look at it as attacking. I look at it as merely a free and open debate over the issues important to people, yes I do. The lieutenant governor is a fine person. I like her very much. I do not, in fact, get to spend as much time with her as I like, because when the legislature is in session, she tends to be behind closed doors with Sens. Marc Basnight and Tony Rand working on raising tuition. And no, in keeping with my own promise to be positive, I want to say that I do not believe they will run the state like usual just because they would be close to a Perdue administration. I mean, to borrow the lieutenant governor's own theme, I'm positive about that."