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 .

Question: Why did McCain praise Obama 's performance and admit that he might win ?
Answer: McCain was n't one to bolster his own sense of self assuredness any more than necessaryHe was being sarcastic and still felt that he would be the one to win the electionHe was bitter and resentful and was saying these things in a form of complaintHe was doing this in an attempt to gain sympathy so that more people would vote for him