He managed to limit the mechanical hand chops and weirdly timed smiles that can often punctuate his speeches. He delivered his lines with an ease that suggested a momentary peace with his longtime nemesis, the teleprompter.

But when McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, came to the intended sound bite of his speech -- the part about reducing America's dependence on foreign oil -- he hit a slick.

"I have set before the American people an energy plan, the Lex-eegton Project," McCain said, drawing a quick breath and correcting himself. "The Lex-ing-ton Proj-ect," he said slowly.

In Cincinnati the next day, McCain would again slip up on the name of the Massachusetts town, where, he noted, "Americans asserted their independence once before." He called it "the Lexiggdon Project," and twice tried to fix his error, before flipping the name in later references.

McCain's battle of Lexington is part of a daily struggle for the politician who has thrived in the give-and-take settings of campaign buses, late-night TV couches and town meetings.

By his own admission, McCain is not a great orator. He is ill-suited to lecterns (which often dwarf his small stature), and he tends to sound as if he is reading his lines, not speaking them.

To better compete with Democrat Barack Obama, McCain is undergoing a subtle but marked transition as a political performer, aides said. As part of a staff shake-up that was announced Tuesday, he brought in a new adviser -- Greg Jenkins, a former White House official and Fox News producer -- who will oversee the producing and staging of McCain's events.