Barack Obama accused John McCain yesterday of trying to incite anger and divide the country, as he made an impassioned plea to voters to ignore the Republican’s attacks on his character and honesty.

Invoking Franklin Roosevelt, the President who steered America out of the Great Depression, Mr Obama declared: “Nothing’s easier than to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that’s not what we need now in the United States. The American people aren’t looking for someone who can divide this country. They’re looking for someone who will lead it.”

He added: “We can meet this moment. We can come together to restore confidence in the American economy.”

In a clear sign that the increasingly inflammatory tone at Republican rallies was threatening to get of hand, Mr McCain called on his supporters last night to show more respect. “We want to fight, and I will fight, but we will be respectful,” he told a rally in Lakeville, Minnesota.

“I admire Senator Obama and his accomplishments and I will respect him,” he added. “I want everyone to be respectful and let’s make sure we are, because that is the way that politics should be conducted in America. I want to be president, but I have to tell you that he is a decent person and a person you don’t have to be scared of.”

Throughout the week crowds at rallies held by Mr McCain and Mrs Palin have shown extreme hostility to the Democratic candidate. “Terrorist!” one man screamed on Monday when Mr Obama’s name was mentioned. “He’s a damn liar!” yelled a woman in Pennsylvania on Wednesday. “Get him. He’s bad for our country.”

On Thursday, as a voter asked Mr McCain about his rival, the crowd erupted in calling names, with one woman shouting: “Obama Osama!”

Mr Obama has also been under attack over his alleged terror link, as the McCain campaign released a new advertisement focusing on his past ties to William Ayers, the Vietnam-era domestic terrorist. In the commercial, a narrator says: “Obama’s blind ambition. When convenient, he worked with terrorist Bill Ayers. When discovered, he lied.”

Mr Ayers, who has never apologised for bombing federal buildings and is now a university professor, hosted a meet-the-candidate event for Mr Obama in 1995 in his first run for the Illinois state senate. The two worked together on the boards of charities.

Seeking to exploit Mr Obama’s youth, Mr McCain asked at a rally yesterdayl: “Which candidate’s experience – in government and in life – makes him a more reliable leader for our country and commander-in-chief for our troops? In short, who is ready to lead? In a time of trouble and danger for our country, who will put our country first?”

He added: “Rather than answer his critics, Senator Obama will try to distract you from noticing that he never answers the serious and legitimate questions he has been asked.”

Mr Obama’s campaign, shrugging off the mud slung in its path, has been boosted in the past fortnight by the economic crisis, an issue on which voters trust him more. Yet he and his strategists are keenly aware that the Republican attacks of the past week could rekindle doubts about his background and values. His speech yesterday in Ohio was by far his most direct call for Americans to ignore the innuendo and concentrate on the economy. He leads Mr McCain in national polls and in a string of key battleground states, but generally by only a few percentage points.

Last night the McCain campaign braced itself for the release of a report into whether Sarah Palin, his running-mate, abused her office as Governor of Alaska. She has been accused of trying to get her former brother-in-law dismissed from the police force to settle a score. The Alaskan panel in charge of the “Troopergate” inquiry was due to vote on whether to make it public.

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