'We're not going to take that crap!'' cried Susan Rice, the Obama foreign policy adviser and former Clinton White House national security staffer.

What they won't take are those Republican insinuations about Obama's fortitude and patriotism.

Instead, she vowed that the Democratic campaign will force the G.O.P. to answer for ''John McCain's bad judgment.''

Her promise drew an appreciative roar from a big, very patriotic crowd listening to Rice at the Vote Vets/National Security Network reception at the Denver Athletic Club this afternoon, which attracted former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.).