I'm not sure what the proper protocol is, but I saw President Bush pull off a great maneuver in response to some hecklers.
During the 2002 midterm elections, President Bush ended his campaigning on behalf of congressional Republican candidates here in Dallas. It was in an arena with about 10,000 people.
In the middle of his speech, some libs started shouting "No war for oil in Iraq!"
Bush did not answer them. Instead, he just stopped his speech and stepped back from the microphone.
But the rest of the crowd in the arena started chanting "USA! USA!" while pumping our fists at the hecklers. We drowned them out. And it felt great.
It looks like Kerry doesn't have the kind of supporters that Bush does. Otherwise, he'd let his supporters counterattack his hecklers.
That's a great story!