It was a scene reminiscent of the 1980 Olympic hockey semifinals against the Soviet Union: Led by men in body paint, a crowded hockey rink reverberated with the chant "U-S-A! U-S-A!" as fans waved mini-flags and pompoms.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain rallied New Hampshire supporters at St. Anselm College in Goffstown yesterday morning, reminding them that he twice has come from behind to claim victories in primaries and asking for one more comeback.

"I love you. I love New Hampshire. I know I can count on you again," McCain told the crowd of more than 1,000 at St. Anselm's Ice Arena. "Some of my happiest memories are of being

here in this wonderful state. I feel I know it. . . . The people of New Hampshire make their own decisions, and more than once, they've ignored the polls and the pundits and brought me across the finish line first."

Recent polls have depicted a difficult road to victory for McCain, an Arizona senator. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, an Illinois senator, has led every poll in New Hampshire for almost a month, with an average lead these days of almost 6 percentage points, according to tabulations by Pollster.com. Even so, New Hampshire ranks among only a handful of states considered a genuine toss-up by the campaigns and media analysts.

The visit came as national media buzzed that McCain had pulled back from New Hampshire and other swing states; according to the New York Times, he's curtailed his advertising spending in five states. McCain's campaign denied any movement out of New Hampshire yesterday, although records at WMUR show that McCain's campaign has moved to stretch a $110,000 ad buy, originally meant for Oct. 15 to 26, to last an extra week, through the Nov. 4 election.

For that same time period, according to WMUR's advertising files, Obama has contracted to buy about $200,000 worth of ads, including $50,000 for the last week before the election. That gives Obama nearly a 2-to-1 lead in advertising on WMUR in the run-up to the election, and that's not including the lead he's likely racked up on Boston stations. Nationally, according to the Times, Obama's advertising lead is 4-to-1.

At yesterday's rally, McCain spent most of his speech railing against Obama's economic priorities, describing his opponent as a tax-and-spend liberal who aims to redistribute wealth. McCain made ample use of air quotes, using phrases Obama had uttered on the campaign trail and written in his books, such as "spread the wealth" and "fairness."

"He has talked elsewhere about how, in our day, 'the distribution of wealth is even more skewed and levels of inequity are now higher,' " McCain said. "What are really skewed in all of this are my opponent's priorities!" McCain said Obama had forgotten "that the goal is not to redistribute wealth, but to create it."

McCain returned over and over to "Joe the Plumber," an Ohio man who has become a campaign-trail staple as McCain describes Obama's tax plan as one that would hurt small-business owners. (Obama says he would cut taxes for most but raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year.)

McCain alluded to the doubt and uncertainty many Americans feel about the future, wondering whether the American economy and military will continue to dominate the world and whether the next generation will have a brighter future.

Answering his own question, McCain said that nothing is "inevitable," and he closed his remarks by vowing a half dozen times to "fight" for change, as audience members shook red-white-and-blue pompoms.

"America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here," he said. "We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history."

The rally drew a wide range of personalities. About 40 Obama supporters chanted outside the college entrance at 8 a.m. One man walking past their protest, toward the rally, carried a slightly altered Obama sign - with an N taped before the O. Some folks were jazzed about McCain's vice presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as evidenced by the station wagon with the sign in the back: "President Palin." (McCain didn't mention her name once in his prepared remarks).

At the rally, eight shirtless college men stood on the risers behind McCain, with body paint spelling out M-A-V-E-R-I-C-K. This has happened on the McCain-Palin tour before, as displayed in pictures of a Palin rally in Maine this month.

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