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McCain has let angry shouts against Sen. Barack Obama pass unchecked at previous rallies.
This time he stepped in, while many in a crowd of about 2,000 booed when McCain said he admired Obama and his accomplishments.
“First of all, I want to be president of the United States — obviously I do not want Senator Obama to,” McCain said at one point. “But I have to tell you — 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.”
The crowd booed again.
The event in the Twin Cities suburb of Lakeville was part campaign rally, part town hall meeting — and many of the questions focused on Obama.
“I can’t trust Obama,” said Gayle Quinnell, 75, of Shakopee. “I have read about him and he’s not, he’s not — he’s an Arab.”
McCain shook his head and cut her off: “No, no. He’s a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”
Obama is a Christian whose campaign and others have debunked persistent rumors about his faith.
At the Minnesota event, McCain teetered between firing up his supporters and checking their anger at his rival. One man said that he and his pregnant wife are “scared” of an Obama presidency, mentioning Obama’s relationship with William Ayers, a founder of the violent Weather Underground group during the Vietnam era.
Obama’s campaign has said the two aren’t close although they served on a neighborhood board together.
During another exchange that focused on Obama, McCain said his fans could be respectful “and still point out fundamental facts.”
Before the event, Obama surrogate Dick Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, urged McCain and running mate Sarah Palin to pull their supporters back from attacks on Obama.
“It doesn’t help to encourage those outrageous comments,” he said as he traveled around Minnesota. “Both campaigns have got to stop people when they go too far and make it clear that the only fight here is over issues.”
But some in the crowd and even some dignitaries urged McCain to go after Obama more aggressively. Former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz said he wanted McCain to point out “some of the associations that have really marred Obama’s” history.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty introduced McCain and compared the Arizona senator’s record to Obama’s.
“The difference between these two candidates is John McCain actually has a record of accomplishment,” said Pawlenty, whom McCain considered as a running mate. “If Barack Obama has a record, it’s mostly a record of attendance.”
Meanwhile, Democrat-turned-independent Tim Penny talked up McCain’s appeal to swing voters. He said the suburbs will determine who gets Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes. McCain and Palin were in Blaine, another Twin Cities suburb, three weeks ago.
