Defending the aggressive campaign rhetoric at recent McCain-Palin events against criticisms made by Rep. John Lewis, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis raised John McCain’s history as a POW on Sunday.

The Huffington Post reports that the use of such a line of defense came one day after Lewis warned that the Arizona Republican – through his recent campaign rhetoric – was “sowing the seeds of hatred and division” in scenes reminiscent of segregationist George Wallace.

During an appearance on the Fox network, Davis distanced the McCain campaign from some of the more inflammatory crowd rhetoric – including calling Barack Obama a “terrorist” and a “traitor” and yelling “kill him” when his name comes up. But he dismissed the suggestion that McCain or Sarah Palin were in any way responsible for inciting such ire.

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