MANCHESTER, N.H. — Republican presidential hopeful John McCain joked Friday that given his campaign's ups and downs, he's shown the stamina of the last man on Earth."I've been declared dead in this campaign on five or six occasions. I won't refer to a recent movie I saw, but I think I am legend," he told reporters, referring to the film in which Will Smith stars as the last man on Earth.After watching his early lead in New Hampshire evaporate months ago, McCain is on an upswing, closing the gap with longtime front-runner Mitt Romney in recent New Hampshire polls.

"Somehow we've had a Lazarus-like experience," McCain told supporters at his campaign headquarters. "I think it's because I've been telling the truth. I've been telling people the truth whether I thought that's what they wanted or not."

He also reminded volunteers that much work remains to be done before the Jan. 8 primary, telling them he needs to do "very, very well" in the state in order to continue on to further contests. McCain has not paid as much attention to Iowa, where Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are in a close race heading into the Jan. 3 caucus.

Though snow delayed his arrival and forced him to cancel one event, McCain held a brief town hall meeting with a group of young professionals. One voter challenged him to explain how he'd continue paying for the estimated $720 million being spent on the Iraq war each day.

"Are you going to cut student loans?" she asked. "Are you going to cut Social Security? Are you going to raise taxes?"

McCain acknowledged the war's high cost but said the nation would be paying a higher price — the loss of more American lives — if it ended the war prematurely, because chaos and genocide would follow.

"It's going to be a heavy tax burden, but not nearly the burden we'd be paying in American blood had we surrendered in Iraq," McCain said. He added that he would not raise taxes but would eliminate wasteful spending.