John McCain and Republican Presidential candidate have been accused of inciting dangerous hatred in their campaign against opponent Barack Obama.
McCain has been forced to try and tone down his supporters at his rallies as they increasingly shout out "terrorist", "liar" and even "kill him" when Obama is mentioned.
"He's a decent family man (and) citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign's all about," McCain said at the town-hall meeting in Lakeville, Minnesota.
The plea, which seems to undercut the thrust of his aggressively negative ad campaign, drew boos from the crowd but appreciative recognition from Obama.
Critics say the seething anger seen at McCain rallies has been whipped up by campaign ads which have accused the Democrat of associating with terrorists.
Civil rights campaigner John Lewis today said McCain and Palin were "sowing the seeds of hatred and division" with their incendiary rhetoric against Obama.
"As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Senator McCain and (Alaska) Governor Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all," Lewis said in a statement on Politico.com
McCain has also been forced to sack a prominent Virginia Republican figure after he wrote a newspaper column mocking a potential Barack Obama administration.
MCCain spokesman Bobby May was dropped from his job as McCain's Buchanan County campaign chairman for writing that Obama would paint the whitehouse black and hire rapper Ludacris to rewrite the national anthem.
It comes on the back of a damaging Alaskan report that accused Palin of abusing her power while she was governor.
A bipartisan legislative report in Palin's home state of Alaska yesterday found she abused her powers by allowing her husband to pressure officials to fire her former-brother-in-law, a state trooper.
The report said that Palin had "the authority and power to require Mr Palin to cease contacting subordinates, but she failed to act."
The probe was the latest blow to Palin, who electrified the Republican Party when she was first picked but has seen her impact diminish amid questions about her qualifications.
The damaging report could make it tougher for the McCain camp to portray Palin as a crusading reformer set to flush out corruption in Washington.