McCain was addressing volunteers at his campaign offices in Arlington, Va., when he referred to poll numbers showing him trailing Obama. He told the campaign workers the poll figures should drive them to work harder, MSNBC reported.

"After I whip his you know what in this debate, we're going to be going out 24/7," McCain said.

However, he also cautioned supporters to be respectful, the report said.

"I wanna emphasize again, I respect Senator Obama," McCain said. "We will conduct a respectful race and we will make sure that everybody else does too."

McCain is to campaign Monday in Virginia, which hasn't backed a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Recent polls show Obama has made the state competitive, and Virginia Democratic Sen. James Webb said last week Obama would win the state.

McCain and Obama are to face each other in their third debate Wednesday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.