McCain clings to victory hope

REPUBLICAN John McCain today refused to accept his bid for the White House is slowly slipping away.

Despite trailing rival Barack Obama in the polls, and suffering a third defeat in the presidential debates, he remained upbeat and confident he can still pull off a shock win in the election.

"I love the role we're in. I love where we are," Mr McCain told Fox News in an interview last night. "I'm happy. I'm proud of our campaign." Mr Obama, who most commentators feel already has one foot in the White House, warned his supporters not to be over confident.

He reminded them of the crushing defeat he suffered from Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary when he seemed assured of another victory. Despite the note of caution, telling his supporters not to get "giddy" or "cocky", he was still able to focus on victory. "We are now 19 days, not from the end but from the beginning," he told the crowd at a New York fundraiser.

Mr McCain, heading to Florida and other swing states, accepted he was the underdog but said the millions of undecided voters will not make their minds up until polling day on 4 November.

He said Americans were starting to "appreciate" the difference between his economic plan and Mr Obama's. He continued to point to a voter known as Joe the Plumber" real name Joe Wurzwelbacher who has become a Republican symbol of the damage he says Mr Obama's economic policies could do.

"It's class warfare," Mr McCain said. "That's really what it says, that we're going to take money from people who create jobs, as Joe would ... rather than let you keep it and hire more people and create more jobs."

Despite the disclosure that Mr Wurzelbacher owed £600 in taxes, McCain was hoping to work with him. "I think we're going to be spending some time together," he told Fox News.