There was Joe Lieberman in his lucky red sweater, but no Joe the Plumber. Cordless microphones, but no teleprompter. John McCain held what he described as the last town hall meeting of the election last night in Peterborough, in a style reminiscent of the events that earned him victories in two New Hampshire primaries.

Peterborough was the site of McCain's final town hall meeting in 2000, when he won the primary here over then-governor George W. Bush. And it was the site of his 100th town hall meeting this winter, when McCain took questions for more than an hour before specially designed cannons propelled red, white and blue confetti around the historic town hall building.

Yesterday, the Republican presidential candidate told a crowd of about 400 (more than 1,000 others stood outside) that Peterborough will always have a special place in his heart - "Some of my greatest memories and some of my most wonderful friends," he said.

McCain conducted the event in his old primary format. He offered a condensed stump speech, focusing on ending government corruption and encouraging bipartisan cooperation, with barely a mention of his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama. Then he took questions from the audience on student loans, special education and clean coal technologies, among other subjects.

As was his custom during his pre-primary events, McCain handed off a microphone to a volunteer from One, an organization that fights global disease, and offered him the opportunity for a "30-second commercial."

In several cases, he warned questioners they might not like his old answers, evoking the branded "straight talk" that has long been his signature.

On a question about what he'd do to control illegal immigration, McCain outlined the features of a comprehensive immigration reform bill he'd tried and failed to pass in Congress. In addition to border security, he told voters he favored a temporary worker's permit program and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country.

"I will get it done legally, but please understand the contributions that are made to our

country by people who have come to our country in generation after generation," he said. "I know that answer doesn't make you entirely happy, but I have to give you a little straight talk."

He made a similar comment when asked if he would prevent utilities from building new conventional coal power plants.

"I will accelerate clean coal technology, make it a reality and eliminate our dependence," he said. "But again the purpose of this meeting is to tell you the truth, and I can't look you in the eye and tell you that we will not build another power plant that does not have coal as the source of the energy."

It's been weeks since McCain has taken questions from an audience. His recent campaign events have been characterized by prepared remarks and barbed attacks of his opponent. Last night's event took on a softer, more improvisational note, though McCain's obligatory reference to Obama's recent comment that tax policy should "spread the wealth around" did draw boos.

Mike Dennehy, a national campaign adviser, said that McCain told his staff last week that he was determined to return to Peterborough before the election.

"He said, 'Mike, I want to come back to Peterborough,' " Dennehy said. " 'I want it to be our last town hall in 2008.' "

Recent polls, including one conducted for the Monitor last week, show McCain trailing Obama by more than 5 percentage points. Though McCain is fond of characterizing his primary victories here as underdog wins - and in both cases he defeated better-funded candidates with better early polling numbers - in both primaries, he led the polls going into the election.

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