Supporters jeer as McCain calls Obama 'a decent person'

Promises civility after days of harsh attacks on rival

Senator John McCain took a question from a supporter who called Senator Barack Obama an Arab during a town hall meeting in Lakeville, Minn., yesterday. He took the microphone from her and called his rival ''a decent family man.'' (JIM WATSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

LAKEVILLE, Minn. - Republican rage against Barack Obama claimed a new victim yesterday: John McCain.

A week of growing fury from Republicans aimed at Obama - and allegations from Democrats that McCain and his running mate, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, had fostered a mob mentality at their rallies - ended with boos for McCain from his own supporters after he rebuked one of them for saying he was "scared . . . to bring a child up" under an Obama presidency.

There was a rumble of disapproval from the crowd when McCain defended his Democratic rival. "I have to tell you he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States," McCain said.

The expectant father was among eight voters at a town hall meeting who begged McCain with growing desperation to confront Obama more forcefully, with several of them raising specific controversies that have dominated news coverage and the attention of Republican activists. Those include Obama's relationships with Vietnam-war era radical William Ayers, who helped found the violent group the Weather Underground, and the community-organizing group ACORN, which is accused of voter registration fraud.

When a woman referred to Obama yesterday as "an Arab," McCain cut her off and seized the microphone from her hands. "No, ma'am," he interjected. "He is a decent family man with whom I happen to have some disagreements." In fact, the most rousing applause of the afternoon came not for McCain, but for one of several questioners who appealed to the candidate to "fight" in next Wednesday's final debate with Obama.

"If you want a fight, we will fight," McCain replied. "But we will be respectful. I admire Senator Obama and his accomplishments. I don't mean that has to reduce your ferocity. I just mean to say you have to be respectful."

Such appeals for civility were a frequent refrain from McCain through the spring, but they have not been heard lately as the McCain campaign - responding in part to demands from prominent conservatives, including talk show host Rush Limbaugh - aggressively shifted its attention in the last week to questions about Obama's character.

"Like Rush says, we'll have to drag him across the line," Gayle Freeh, a registered nurse who was in the Lakeville audience, said of McCain. "He needs to go up and tell people the truth: that [Obama] is the most stinking liberal senator."

McCain had thundered about Obama all week, dismissing him as a "Chicago politician" and accusing him of duplicity on personal and policy issues. "Who is the real Barack Obama?" McCain asked repeatedly.

Crowds at McCain's rallies have responded zealously, including a handful who saluted Obama's name with violent threats and cries of "treason," "terrorist," and "bum." The incidents became the subject of extensive media attention, and apparent interest from the Secret Service.

Earlier yesterday, Obama responded directly to the attacks, telling people at a rally in Ohio: "I think that folks are looking for something different. It's easy to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that's not what we need right now in the United States. The times are too serious. The challenges are too great."

Democratic supporters criticized the McCain campaign's tactics and urged the candidate to condemn them. John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, which has endorsed Obama, said in a statement, "When rally attendees shout out such attacks as 'terrorist' or 'kill him' about Senator Barack Obama, when they are cheered on by crowds incited by McCain-Palin rhetoric - it is chilling that McCain and Palin do nothing to object."

McCain aide Mark Salter dismissed them as isolated acts magnified by unfair media coverage that he said has failed to focus on comparable events on Obama's side. "McCain has gone the extra mile to avoid perfectly legitimate attacks which some might perceive as pushing the wrong buttons," he said. In Minnesota, McCain for the first time addressed the controversy himself. "Ninety-nine and 44/100ths of every person who has come to my town-hall meetings has been respectful," McCain said.

McCain appeared overwhelmed by the desperation supporters showed for him to be tougher. At one point, McCain felt obliged to assure one voter - who, referencing "The Godfather," beseeched him to take Obama "to the mattress" - that he cared as much about the election's outcome as she did. "Believe me, I am motivated," McCain said.

"All Republicans feel like he needs to get to the heart of the issue more, and not dance around things," said Greg Selner, a computer programmer from Lakeville as he exited the school afterward.

"I think he wants to be respectful. He's honorable. He just has to find a way to do it," his wife, Brenda, added.

Ana Lea Barraquet-Bossi, a Republican activist from St. Paul, said the fact that McCain is a "gentleman" should not stop him from confronting Obama. "I pray daily that God gives him wisdom. He has to take off the gloves and go after this guy," she said. "He should be able to do it after the enthusiasm he had today."