PHILADELPHIA — Barnstorming to get out the vote across this pivotal Pennsylvania city, Barack Obama paused yesterday in Philadelphia to thank John McCain for restraining his supporters before rebuking him on the economy.

"I want to acknowledge that Sen. McCain tried to tone down the rhetoric at his town hall meeting yesterday," Obama said, referring to a raucous gathering where voters urged McCain to get tough on Obama. "I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other."

Obama also noted that McCain served the country with honor "and deserves our thanks for that." McCain is a decorated Vietnam veteran who was a prisoner of war in Hanoi for 5 1/2 years.

Voters at McCain's town hall meetings and rallies have gotten increasingly riled up, demanding that McCain go after Obama harder. One person said he was scared of Obama, and another called Obama an Arab. McCain told them that Obama is a decent family man and that he just disagreed with him.

"I want everyone to be respectful," McCain told the crowd Friday in Minnesota. "And let's make sure we are because that's the way politics is done in America."

Still, as Obama hit the first of four Philadelphia rallies, he followed his appreciation to McCain with a dig: "But when it comes to the economy and what families here in Pennsylvania are going through, Sen. McCain still doesn't get it."

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded: "The tone of this election is not fueling voter outrage, it's that Americans are frustrated knowing that Barack Obama's plans to raise taxes during a down economy and his proposal for a trillion dollars in new government spending are the absolute wrong answers to our economic crisis."

With 21 electoral votes, the Keystone state is a plum for any candidate. But Democrats have dominated here since Bill Clinton won in 1992, and Republicans have not won the state in a presidential contest since then. In 2004, John Kerry won here by only 2.5 percent over President George W. Bush, and McCain has been aggressively competing in the state.

Obama was accompanied around the city by Mayor Michael Nutter, Sen. Bob Casey and Gov. Ed Rendell.

Rendell encouraged Philadelphians to turn out for Obama, saying he wants to see 75 percent of the people voting.

"I don't care how long the lines are. I don't care if it's pouring rain," Rendell said in Vernon Park in the Germantown section of town.

Philadelphia has long been a Democratic stronghold, and Obama's supporters are hoping that a strong turnout here will offset any McCain support in other parts of the state.

"If we max our vote in the city and the suburbs, we take this state," Nutter told reporters.