Fear and anger at McCain rallies is becoming disturbing

My mother first brought this to my attention: the level of anger and fear at McCain-Palin rallies is rising and is not being helped by the specific attacks that McCain and Palin have chosen to make about Obama.

McCain has crossed a line by allowing his supporters to yell out "treason" and "terrorist" and other insults to describe Obama and not responding that we are all Americans and that that language is unacceptable.

More from Andrew Sullivan, Politico, and the Huffington Post.

UPDATE: More here and here. And this from Joe Klein at Time:

I'm beginning to worry about the level of craziness on the Republican side, the over-the-top, stampede-the-crowd statements by everyone from McCain on down, the vehemence of the crowds that McCain and Palin are drawing with people shouting "Kill him" and "He's a terrorist" and "Off with his head."

Watch the tape of the guy screaming, "He's a terrorist!" McCain seems to shudder at that, he rolls his eyes... and I thought for a moment he'd admonish the man. But he didn't. And now he's selling the Ayres non-story full-time. Yes, yes, it's all he has. True enough: he no longer has his honor. But we are on the edge of some real serious craziness here and it would be nice if McCain did the right thing and told his more bloodthirsty supporters to go home and take a cold shower. But McCain hasn't done the right thing all year. His campaign is appalling, as the New York Times editorial board said today--and more, it is a national disgrace.

JOE BIDEN has this to say:

All of the things they said about Barack Obama in the TV, on the TV, at their rallies, and now on YouTube … John McCain could not bring himself to look Barack Obama in the eye and say the same things to him ... In my neighborhood, when you’ve got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him.

And this:

"Sarah Palin had great fun saying Joe Biden thinks paying taxes is patriotic. Well, let me tell you what Joe Biden thinks," the Delaware senator said at an outdoor rally. "Joe Biden thinks that anybody who takes millions of dollars offshore to avoid paying their fair share is unpatriotic."

The Obama-Biden campaign has accused John McCain of saying publicly he would close offshore banking loopholes, but saying otherwise in private.

"That is not patriotic and it will stop, it will stop in an Obama-Biden administration! Enough! I've had it up to here! Don't lecture me on patriotism," shouted Biden, getting drowned out by the applause of his supporters. "I'm dead tired of being taken advantage of. I'm getting tired of it."

Biden also said he's had enough of the McCain camp's personal attacks on Obama, slamming the Arizona senator for violating the "ethics" of the old neighborhood for not having the courage to go after Obama's character in their debates the way he has in speeches and in television ads.