Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign has become mired in a controversy over its aggressive personal attacks on Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, which has put the Republican candidate in a supremely awkward position. During a week in which rallies held for his candidacy have featured allegations that Sen. Obama is somehow linked to domestic terrorists or has suspicious overseas supporters, more than once audience members have shouted out threats to Sen. Obama's life.

Now, Sen. McCain, who had promised to run a "respectful" campaign, finds himself facing a rising tide of media antipathy, mounting criticism that to continue provoking such responses may constitute a violation of federal law and be considered "incitement", and the general perception that the campaign is more about anger than issues. So Sen. McCain appears to have made an effort to do the decent thing, and put a stop to it.

At a town-hall meeting event, when a woman said she can't trust Obama because she suspects he's an "Arab", Sen. McCain said "No, no ma'am." He corrected her, and said Sen. Obama "is a decent family man with whom I happen to have some disagreements". He also rebuked a man who claimed to be "scared... to bring up a child" with Obama in the White House, saying that there is no reason to fear an Obama presidency.

Specifically: "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". This seemed to deflate some in the audience, and McCain was even booed for defending his opponent, but McCain explained in sensitive tones that Obama would be a fine president, but that he's running against Obama because of course, as a Republican, he thinks he'd be a much better one.

He called on his supporters to be "respectful", said that's what this campaign was supposed to be about, a respectful debate of the issues by two qualified individuals. "If you want a fight, we will fight," he told supporters calling for more attacks on Obama, adding "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."

McCain by calling for civility is returning to the roots of his campaign, which like Sen. Obama's had initially sought a less partisan environment. The Arizona senator also said it was important to understand that his questioning of Obama's past isn't intended to instill fear about Obama, but rather is meant to be a call for Obama to tell the truth about "relationships" with people who are part of the Chicago political environment he came through.

Some critics say this point is disingenuous, that McCain is falsely accusing Obama of lying about a relationship which has never been more than Obama has acknowledged. And Obama has addressed the issue openly, in the past, but that McCain's charges are unfair in that they are intended to give the impression that Obama lied, simply because his version of events differs from McCain's allegations.

It could be argued McCain had no choice. Increasingly, it was observed that the rhetoric at his rallies seemed designed to stoke fear and anger, and the reaction of the crowds was not limited to isolated individuals. True, there are only two specific cases known where individuals shouted "Kill him!" and "Off with his head!", but the mood was clearly moving in that direction, and a US senator is aware, one would assume, there are federal laws banning rallies that move people to violence or to call for violence.

On Friday, commentary began to shift in that direction, with some supporters of Sen. Obama asking whether there was a legal responsibility on the part of the McCain campaign to make sure that campaign rhetoric did not amount to "incitement", a legal term related to riot law. A spokesperson for McCain's campaign scolded Democrats and the media for "attacking" those "supporters" who expressed "views" outside the mainstream, and the notion that the campaign sought to defend the right of individuals to call for the Democratic candidate's death may have been the last straw.

Polling throughout the week seemed to indicate McCain was losing independent voters and even moderates in his own party with the smear tactics, but more specifically with the unsavory atmosphere that was growing up around some campaign rallies. Gov. Palin had come to be seen as a "rabble-rouser", and several well-known conservative commentators said the Republican party was supposed to be above this kind of politics, calling on the campaign to "rein in" the vice-presidential candidate.

In the end, Sen. McCain did the right thing. There is no room in American politics for race-baiting, for stoking fears based on ethnicity, or even, for that matter, on running a campaign that counts on fear and confusion giving a candidate an edge. McCain had previously stood up for that, but his presidential campaign seemed to have gotten away from his long-held principles. Yesterday, he took a step toward restoring order, and perhaps made the case for reserving these last weeks for a healthy debate of real issues.

Analysis has alternated between saying McCain has been the victim of his own campaign's overzealous attacks, having to fall on his sword to save his honor, and saying that he had to reclaim the moral high-ground, lest he be left wallowing in some political nether-region where Obama would scarcely need to seek him out or answer his charges. But John McCain deserves credit for trying to put the brakes on what was becoming a slide into the muck and a dangerous precedent. [CafeSentido.com]