[img_assist|nid=427|title=U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Boston) campaigning in Framingham earlier this year|desc=Politicker Photo|link=none|align=left|width=391|height=317]U.S. Sen. John Kerry denounced John McCain's negative messages on Friday, saying the Arizonan's campaign has turned "ugly" and "desperate."

Kerry, a Boston Democrat, made his remarks in a message distributed to his large email list. Here are the key grafs,

John McCain has shown a stunning failure of leadership. His campaign, in a time of economic crisis and foreign policy drift, has degenerated into a negative and nasty campaign of smears.

The reports are piling up of ugliness at the campaign rallies of John McCain and Sarah Palin. Audience members hurl insults and racial epithets, call out "Kill Him!" and "Off With His Head," and yell "treason" when Senator Obama's name is mentioned. I strongly condemn language like this which can only be described as hate-filled.

Kerry, who faced strong and inaccurate attacks as the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, notes recent studies that have shown that all of McCain's ads recently have been attack ads and  calls on his supporters to retaliate against the attacks by visiting his website www.truthfightsback.com.

"Make no mistake," Kerry writes near the end of the email, "these are desperation tactics from the McCain-Palin campaign. They know that they are in trouble, that the American people are tired of the Republican policies that got us into this mess. But desperation does not excuse the kind of campaign they are now running."