Sen. Barack Obama speaks at a rally at 52nd and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, 11 Oct 2008

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama Saturday thanked rival John McCain for urging supporters to be respectful even though both sides disagree on political issues.

The Democrat said he appreciates McCain's effort to control angry outbursts at Republican campaign events.  On Friday, McCain told supporters that Obama is a decent person after a rally grew increasingly heated.

Obama quickly turned to the U.S. economy and told supporters in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania that McCain's policies will not work.

McCain Saturday told supporters in the midwestern state of Iowa that people are angry about the mess in Washington and Wall street.  The Arizona senator vowed as president to bring an end to the economic turmoil and balance the federal budget by the end of his term.

Obama's running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden in the Democratic weekly radio address Saturday accused McCain of making personal attacks against Obama to divert attention from the troubled economy.

Meanwhile, McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Saturday denied a report's finding that she abused her power as governor.

A bipartisan panel in the state legislature concluded Friday that Palin pressured a subordinate to fire her former brother-in-law from his state police job.  But the report also concluded that Palin was within her rights to fire that subordinate.

Palin said Saturday she did nothing unethical or illegal.