WASHINGTON (AP)

John McCain yesterday insisted that he is making a comeback and will defeat Democrat Barack Obama, discounting the Illinois senator's lead in most national and key state polls.

No Republican has ever won the presidency without carrying Ohio since Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, and voters in Ohio have selected the eventual winner in the last 11 presidential elections.

With eight days remaining for the election, polls of the 50 states show Obama either nearing or above the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.

'Doing fine'

McCain, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, dismissed the poll numbers and said his campaign is "doing fine".

The Republican, interviewed from Iowa yesterday on NBC television's 'Meet the Press', said his campaign has pulled closer to Obama's.

"We've closed in the last week," said McCain. "We'll continue to be very competitive in many of the battleground states."

Crowds

Questioned about his standing, McCain said the size of the crowds and the level of enthusiasm have heartened him at his events.

"This is going to be a very close race, and I believe I'm going to win it," he said.

On the subject of his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, McCain rejected the notion that she is not qualified to be president and that she is hurting the campaign.

"I don't defend her. I praise her. She is exactly what Washington needs," he said.

He also dismissed criticism about the Republican Party spending $150,000 on her wardrobe at high-end retailers.

"She lives a frugal life, she and her family are not wealthy, she and her family were thrust into this," McCain said. "She is a role model to millions and millions of Americans."

Out of touch

Yesterday, Obama released a new TV commercial that describes McCain, as Obama often does on the campaign trail, as "out of ideas, out of touch and running out of time". It also accuses the Republican of resorting to smears and scare tactics because he does not have a plan to turn around the economy. Obama's campaign said the 30-second commercial would begin running on national cable television outlets today.

US Election Day is on November 4

Under the United States system, the nation-wide popular vote does not decide the election. Instead, the contest is decided on a winner-take-all state-by-state basis, with each candidate battling to capture electoral votes that are roughly apportioned according to population.