By Matt Spetalnick
LAKEVILLE, Minnesota (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee John McCain was booed at his own rally on Friday as he tried to rein in increasingly raw anger among supporters stunned by Democrat Barack Obama's lead in the polls.
Speaking in a Minneapolis suburb, McCain -- who had escalated character attacks on Obama in recent days -- found himself in the unlikely role of defending his rival in the face of sometimes hostile questions from frustrated Republican loyalists.
He drew boos from a crowd packed into a high school gymnasium when he insisted to a skeptical supporter that Obama was a "decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared (of) as president of the United States."
McCain appeared to be trying to dial down the ugly tone that has crept into his rallies, including anti-Obama taunts from the crowd, as his campaign has faltered amid a financial crisis that polls show most Americans believe Obama would be better able to handle.
McCain's own sharpened rhetoric, including questions about Obama's association with former 1960s radical William Ayers -- an issue he raised again on Friday -- has been seen as counterproductive to attracting unaffiliated voters.
"We want to fight and I want to fight, but we will be respectful," McCain said during a question-and-answer session with voters at a campaign event in Lakeville. But when he then added, "I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments," the crowd jeered loudly.
"That doesn't mean you have to reduce your ferocity," he said. "It's just got to be respectful."
McCain was quick to insist that only a tiny fraction of those at his campaign events had said anything disrespectful of Obama, who would be America's first black president. Continued...
RiverBissonnette (Archivo)
El candidato republicano a Presidente de los Estados Unidos, John McCain, aseguró en un acto en Lakeville, Minessota, que Barack Obama es un ciudadano decente y pidió que se lo respete. McCain defendía, así, a su rival demócrata de quienes lo acusan de ser "comunista" y de origen árabe.

"Yo admiro al senador Obama —declaró el republicano—, y no es un cumplido, yo lo respetaré y pido que todo el mundo sea respetuoso con él y asegurémonos de que así sea, porque así debería ser la política". Sus seguidores respondieron con abucheos las palabras del candidato, entonces, trató de calmar los ánimos al expresar: "Si yo hubiese pensado que él es mejor presidente, no competiría con él".

Parte del electorado —más que nada en los conservadores— siente rechazo a Obama por relaciones que el senador por Illinois mantuvo con Bill Ayers, un activista en contra de la Guerra de Vietnam, de la cual McCain es veterano. Además, los rumores sobre el origen árabe del demócrata surgieron por su segundo nombre, Hussein.

Esta campaña contra Obama había llegado incluso hasta la compañera de fórmula de McCain, Sarah Palin. La gobernadora de Alaska había declarado que "Obama se junta con terroristas".

Mientras tanto, la revista ''Newsweek'' publicó el viernes una nueva encuesta a tres semanas de los comicios. En ella, Obama sigue en ventaja con el 52% de intención de voto contra el 41% de McCain. No obstante, los indecisos podrían cambiar el rumbo de la elección, que se llevará a cabo el 4 de noviembre.