BEREA , Ohio -- Republican presidential nominee John McCain began playing down expectations for Friday night 's first general election debate , saying Democratic rival Barack Obama is " very , very good . " As he met with voters and campaign volunteers at Baldwin Wallace College , McCain played up the importance of Ohio and noted Obama 's " eloquence . " " All of you know the history lesson that the last person who succeeded in becoming president of the United States without winning the state of Ohio was Jack Kennedy , '' McCain said . " And that 's been a long time .

Answer the following question: Why did McCain praise Obama 's performance and admit that he might win ?
McCain was a humble individual who was n't too full of himself to admit the truth of things