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 .

Generate a question about the above context.
Why did McCain praise Obama 's performance and admit that he might win ?
OPTIONS:
(I) McCain was n't one to bolster his own sense of self assuredness any more than necessary;
(II) He was being sarcastic and still felt that he would be the one to win the election;
(III) He was bitter and resentful and was saying these things in a form of complaint;
(IV) He was doing this in an attempt to gain sympathy so that more people would vote for him;