Media and partisan critics who keep hourly track of mistakes Republican presidential candidate John McCain makes on the campaign trail got a little more fodder in New Hampshire Tuesday.

     But as usual, the Arizona senator tossed in humor to lighten things up.

    After his opening remarks, McCain, 72, got confused about the location of Buckingham Place, a federally-subsidized shelter for homeless veterans while answering the first question put to him.

     “There are some efforts including a couple of young men down here who are caring for homeless veterans. They are doing a great job in the city of Concord,’’ McCain began.

      Griffin Dalianis, of Nashua, a state co-chair of Veterans for McCain, corrected the candidate from the audience that the shelter was in Nashua.

      A playful McCain stuck out his hand-held microphone and said to Dalianis, “Can you catch this?’’

      “I was a football player,’’ Dalianis answered.           

     The mike loudly dropped to the floor of the Rochester Opera House.

     “You may have gotten mixed up but we know your heart is always in the right place,’’ Dalianis offered.

        A short time later, an unidentified, female supporter cursed while questioning the caliber of McCain’s paid campaign staff.

    “You have to make some changes,’’ the woman urged without offering specifics.

     McCain quipped, “All right, we are going to put you in charge.’’

    Later, McCain stressed unpaid help is the key to success at the polls. 

     “I am well aware that the only way campaigns succeed and certainly the only way my campaigns have succeeded is through volunteers,’’ McCain assured. 

    National reporters have lost count of the number of times McCain has referred to the non-existent country of Czechoslovakia and he did it again Tuesday.

   “Czech Republic, excuse me,’’ McCain said, correcting himself with a chuckle.    "As you know, the Czech Republic and Slovakia split years ago.  From time to time some of us misstate and say Czechoslovakia when the fact is, it’s the Czech Republic."

     McCain 2008 campaign references to a country that ceased to exist in 1993 go back as far as last October.

    As speculation about his vice presidential choice heats up, McCain assured a questioner that primary attacks from ex-2008 candidate and former MA Gov. Mitt Romney have not played him out of the competition.

   ``Mitt Romney has been a tremendous help to my campaign. He’s done a better job for me than he did for himself,’’ McCain cracked.

    Before the forum, McCain met with veterans and family members including the parents of Marine Cpl Timothy Gibson of Merrimack, killed in January 2005 after a helicopter crash in Iraq

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