Saturday October 11, 2008, 1:34 pm
By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 11, 2008; Page A04

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LAKEVILLE, Minn., Oct. 10 -- At the end of perhaps the most charged and negative week of the presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain sought to tone down his rhetoric toward Sen. Barack Obama even as his running mate, allies and his own advertising continued to attack the character of the Democratic nominee.

On Friday, McCain urged a crowd of skeptical supporters at a town hall forum in this Minneapolis suburb to be respectful of his rival for the presidency despite their deep policy differences with Obama.

The Republican nominee drew a cascade of boos from the crowd when he called Obama "a decent person" and told an expectant father that he does not have to be scared if he is president of the United States.

"We want to fight and I want to fight, but we will be respectful," McCain said, again prompting loud boos when he declared that he admires Obama's accomplishments. "I want everyone to be respectful, and let's be sure we are. . . . That doesn't mean you have to reduce your ferocity. It's just got to be respectful."

At one point in the event, McCain grabbed back the microphone from an elderly woman who had begun to say that she didn't like Obama because he is an Arab. "No, ma'am. No, ma'am," McCain said. "He's a decent family man, a citizen who I just happen to have serious differences with on fundamental questions."

His comments came a day after an angry crowd at a Wisconsin rally shouted epithets about the Democratic nominee, pumped their fists angrily in the air and catcalled repeatedly when Obama's name was mentioned. Several called him a "socialist," and many flipped their middle finger as a press bus drove by.

McCain appeared determined to respond Friday, saying that he respects Obama and only quieting the boos by saying that "if I didn't think I would be one heck of a better president, I wouldn't be running."

But throughout the day, McCain's allies and advertising unleashed a flurry of attacks on his rival's ethics, touting Obama's ties to a Vietnam War-era radical and accusing him of being connected to a group accused of engaging in voter fraud.

He launched a tough new television ad linking Obama to William Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground, which bombed U.S. facilities in protest of the Vietnam War. The narrator in the ad says Obama "lied" about his relationship with Ayers and accuses the Democrat of "blind ambition, bad judgment."

Later, the McCain campaign hosted a conference call with John M. Murtagh, a target of a bombing linked to Ayers's group, in which Murtagh accused Obama of lying "about the nature and extent of that relationship."

At the town hall, McCain promised not to relent on tying Obama to Ayers, telling the crowd, "We'll be talking about that more."

Campaigning in Ohio, Obama accused McCain of "riling up a crowd by stoking anger and division" and said the negative campaigning will backfire. "They can run misleading ads. They can pursue the politics of anything goes. It will not work. Not this time," Obama said.


(I saw 3 nasty adds just this morning -No substance or truth aimed at Obama that John Mcain supports -We shall see)

Saturday October 11, 2008, 1:37 pm
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The attacks on Obama's character came as the both candidates offered new proposals to address the steep drop in the stock market and the effects of the ongoing fiscal crisis on Wall Street.

Obama proposed a menu of tax cuts and loans for small businesses, a temporary program he said is needed to help "Main Street" and complement what has already been done for major financial institutions. McCain said the federal government should suspend rules that require seniors to begin withdrawing from their retirement accounts when they reach age 70 1/2 to allow them more times to try and recoup recent losses.

But throughout the day, McCain's campaign continued to focus on Obama's character.

The accusation about voter fraud came in a conference call with his campaign manager, Rick Davis, who said he is worried the election is being "stolen" in several battleground states where irregularities have been alleged in voter registrations collected by ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

"We don't think the election is something that should be stolen from the American electorate," Davis said, urging Obama to join him in calling for federal investigations and media inquiries into ACORN and its ties to Obama.

"ACORN is an organization that has violated the law on a repeated basis," Davis said. "Barack Obama has given $832,000 within the last year to an organization that is a front group for ACORN."

The McCain campaign put its accusations into a 90-second Web ad, in which an announcer accuses ACORN of "bullying banks, intimidation tactics" and "disruption of business." It says ACORN stands accused of "massive voter fraud" and says "Obama's ties to ACORN run long and deep. . . . They even endorsed him for president."

Obama aides rejected the charge, saying that Obama was never an ACORN community organizer and represented the group only as a lawyer. They said his work as an organizer in 1992 was not connected to the group.

"The McCain campaign's allegations about Senator Obama are completely transparent and false," spokesman Tommy Vietor said. Obama "believes that the registration of voters at record levels is good for our democracy, and the McCain-Palin campaign's false claims are nothing more than another dishonorable, shameful attempt to divert voters' attention from the unprecedented challenges facing their families and our nation."

The voter registration group has come under increased scrutiny since its offices in Nevada were raided Tuesday morning.

Agents with the Nevada secretary of state and attorney general's office raided the group's Clark County headquarters, alleging that ACORN had hired felons to collect signatures and had submitted about 300 apparently fraudulent registration cards.

Officials from ACORN brushed aside the charges of fraud, saying they attempt to verify obviously bogus information on voter registration forms that they collect. But, in many states the law requires them to submit forms to election officials even if they contain suspect information.

"We feel the current strategy from the right is to create and manufacture a so-called crisis of voter fraud," said Brian Kettenring, chief organizer for ACORN in Florida.

Staff writers Robert Barnes and Steven A. Holmes contributed to this report.

Saturday October 11, 2008, 1:38 pm
A little to late -as the seed of hate has been planted -legal actions should be taken!!!

Sunday October 12, 2008, 3:40 pm
Politics in the Zeros: Spread the meme. Republicans are the party that wrecked America. John McCain’s long history with bank failures and financial scandals makes him uniquely ‘qualified’ to speak to the current crisis.

The next time a Republican friend says McCain is ready to Regulate the financial world... Refer them to ProgressiveAccounting.org
for a really long list of all the DEREGULATION McCain has supported over the past 26 years to get us into this mess.

Then suggest a vote for Obama.