Imagine that…a candidate going 100% positive for a change! That's the most impressive part of the two TV ads released today by the Ron Paul campaign which will be running starting today in New Hampshire. The $1.1 million advertising buy is the first major use of the big money that Ron Paul has raised. The fact that the ads are so positive in nature makes them a very interesting test.

The first ad shows a parade of people from their 20s to their 50s with positive looks on their faces explaining in brief why they support Ron Paul. The first speaker, sitting on a front porch, says, “Well, I don't always agree with Ron Paul, but he's honest, and you always know where he stands.” I can't remember the last time I saw a TV political ad that actually admits that not everyone agrees with the candidate right up front. That was refreshing. The ad then uses the mostly young-looking faces to list the highlights of Paul's stump speech. The last two people say, “He's the only candidate who is talking sense to the people,” and “He's catching on…I'm telling ya!”

The second ad is Ron Paul himself speaking to the voters. Right out of the box, he mentions first his top two issues, emphasizing that he is the only candidate in either party who wants to get our troops out of Iraq immediately and that he wants to cut government spending. He emphasizes balancing the budget and protecting the threatened dollar. He then concludes with the line, “Once we stop wasting trillions of dollars overseas, we can cut the budget and still help people who need it.” This is a very interesting signal. He's essentially saying that he's not going to try to completely undo the “social safety net” in one fell swoop. Hard core libertarians may not like it, but it's very smart politics.

Here in Virginia where I live, the TV ads currently running for candidates for the state legislature are more typical of the fare you usually find. They all go negative every time. They're constantly negative. And while they do include a few positive statements, they always find a way to go back to emphasizing the negative. This is not just a phenomenon here in Virginia. I'm sure that people across the country are as sick of all the negative ads in their local areas as I am in mine.

Among Presidential candidates, Rudy Giuliani is already famous for his negative ads against Hillary Clinton. Clinton herself went negative against President Bush in her very first TV ad. Other candidates have not yet gone negative, so I don't want to suggest that Ron Paul is the only one who hasn't. But the way Paul goes about staying positive in these ads is a refreshing change. Rather than appealing to particular constituencies (such as Clinton, Obama, Romney, and McCain are doing in their ads), Paul is simply appealing based on the broad viewpoints that resonate most with people when they finally get to hear him, regardless of their political orientation. It remains to be seen how effective this approach will be in the long run, as this will define how much of a chance Dr. Paul has in the fight for the Republican notmination. One thing is for certain: if he wanted to introduce himself in a positive light to the voters of New Hampshire, he has succeeded.

What will be interesting to watch next is how the ads will be received by his opponents' supporters. Will they go negative on him? Will he be ignored? Already, the hard core neo-con bloggers are doing their best to dig up dirt on him. But even more important will be to see if these ads give Dr. Paul a bump in the polls in New Hampshire. If they do, we could have a whole new ballgame.