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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin put the gun imagery on hold Friday as she campaigned for Sen. John McCain of Arizona at a rally in Tucson.

After taking heat earlier this week for calling on conservatives to 鈥渞eload鈥� and for identifying Democrats she鈥檇 like to help defeat in November by putting crosshairs over their districts on her Facebook page, Governor Palin called on the packed crowd to keep 鈥渇ighting hard鈥� for 鈥渃ommon-sense conservative solutions.鈥�

鈥淲e know violence isn鈥檛 the answer,鈥� said Palin, who was Senator McCain鈥檚 running mate on the 2008 GOP presidential ticket. 鈥淲hen we take up our arms, we鈥檙e talking about our vote. We鈥檙e talking about being involved in a contested primary like this, and picking the right candidate, too, John McCain.鈥�

The four-term senator, known as a maverick who doesn鈥檛 always toe the party line, faces a challenge from the right by former US Rep. J. D. Hayworth of Arizona.

Palin a buffer from the right

The appearance by Palin, a favorite among the antitax 鈥渢ea party鈥� movement, may help buffer McCain from right-wing opposition. Notably, the Arizona tea partiers have not as a group endorsed anybody in the Senate race. This contrasts with other races, such as Florida, where tea partiers are firmly behind former state House speaker Marco Rubio鈥檚 campaign against fellow Republican Gov. Charlie Crist for the US Senate.

In a momentous week marked by the passage and signing of landmark healthcare reform, and a raucous reaction 鈥� including epithets, death threats, and attacks on some members鈥� offices 鈥� emotions had cooled by Friday. In the afternoon, President Obama left for Camp David. Members of Congress, like McCain, have gone back to their home districts and states for rallies and town halls with constituents.

But the debate over the newly enacted healthcare reform law is far from over. And even if the rhetoric has cooled down for now, both sides are bracing for more wrangling to come.

Palin always garners attention. Her speech at the McCain rally was carried live on national cable. On Saturday, she is the headliner at a tea party 鈥渕ega rally鈥� in Searchlight, Nev., hometown of Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada.

In Tucson, Palin spoke of 鈥渢his BS coming from the lamestream media, lately, about us inciting violence.鈥�

鈥淒on鈥檛 let the conversation be diverted,鈥� she continued. 鈥淒on鈥檛 let a distraction like that get you off track. Keep fighting hard for these candidates, who are all about the common-sense conservative solutions that we need.鈥�

Palin's gun rhetoric typical politics?

Most conservatives have defended Palin鈥檚 gun imagery, calling it typical political discourse, which often centers on talk of 鈥渂attlegrounds鈥� and 鈥渇ighting.鈥� On NBC鈥檚 Today Show on Thursday, McCain dismissed concerns about Palin鈥檚 use of the term 鈥渞eload鈥� on Twitter and the crosshairs on Facebook. 鈥淚鈥檝e heard all of that language throughout my political career,鈥� he said.

McCain, of course, has reason to go easy on Palin at the moment 鈥� not that that explains his reaction. And despite her well-publicized complaints about McCain鈥檚 advisers during the presidential campaign, she has maintained good relations with McCain himself. After all, her career skyrocketed after he plucked her from obscurity and put her on the ticket with him.

But not all conservatives are happy about Palin鈥檚 rhetoric. On 鈥�The View鈥� TV show on Thursday, co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck called Palin鈥檚 use of crosshairs imagery 鈥渄espicable.鈥� Ms. Hasselbeck鈥檚 critique raised eyebrows in particular because she had stumped for Palin during the 2008 campaign.

Dan Schnur, an aide to McCain during his 2000 presidential campaign, is unimpressed. Mr. Schnur, now director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California, called Palin鈥檚 rhetoric 鈥減art of a time-honored, bipartisan tradition of using borderline inappropriate weaponry and military metaphors when talking about politics.鈥�

At the moment, he added, 鈥渆verybody鈥檚 nerves are a little bit raw.鈥�