This gracious nod to McCain cannot hurt Obama, of course, and so it's not noble in any objective way, but it's presidential behavior and it's gracious. People don't give Obama credit enough for staying remarkably civil during onslaughts from first the Clinton campaign and now the Rove machine. In this climate, the grace is actually lethally effective politics as well:
“I want to acknowledge that Senator McCain tried to tone down the rhetoric in his town hall meeting yesterday,” Mr. Obama said, speaking at an early-morning rally in North Philadelphia. “I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again Senator McCain has served this country with honor, and he deserves our thanks for that.”
As I watched last week, as McCain constructed yet another a massive effort to detonate Obama, I couldn't help but think of this again. It sums up the entire fall campaign in a way: