NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- With three days to go before the elections and polls showing him trailing , Republican presidential candidate John McCain appeared on NBC 's late night comedy show `` Saturday Night Live , '' poking good-natured fun at his campaign . Sen. John McCain and his wife , Cindy , made guest appearances on `` Saturday Night Live . '' The Arizona senator appeared in the opening skit , next to former cast member Tina Fey reprising her role as his running mate , Alaska Gov . Sarah Palin . `` This past Wednesday , Barack Obama purchased airtime on three major networks , '' he said in the first skit . `` We , however , can only afford QVC ( the television home shopping network ) . '' Later , McCain -- who delivered his lines with a smile on his face -- took another shot at his own expense . `` Look , would I rather be on three major networks ? Of course , '' he said . `` But I 'm a true maverick -- a Republican without money . '' Watch McCain and Fey appear on `` Saturday Night Live '' » . Throughout the skit , McCain and Fey hawked campaign memorabilia such as a set of knives that cuts through pork , and a jewelry collection that McCain 's wife , Cindy , held up . Watch Cindy McCain discuss her `` SNL '' appearance » . He dubbed the latter `` McCain Fine Gold , '' a play on the name of the campaign reform act that he sponsored with Russ Feingold , a Democratic senator from Wisconsin . McCain also took humorous potshots at his Democratic rival , Illinois Sen. Barack Obama , and his vice-presidential pick , Delaware Sen. Joe Biden . McCain pointed to a set of 10 commemorative plates that he said celebrates the 10 town hall meetings he would have had with Obama . `` They are blank , '' he said . `` He would n't agree to those debates . '' Obama had rejected McCain 's proposal for the joint town hall meetings . The two participated in one such appearance as part of the three presidential debates . As for Biden , the SNL skit had Fey hawking a set of `` Joe '' action figures : Joe the Plumber , Joe Six-Pack and Joe Biden . The plumber reference was meant to invoke the now-famous Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher , who McCain has held up as a small business owner who will see his taxes rise if Obama wins the presidency . Joe Six-Pack is a term Palin has used to describe a regular American . Fey , as Palin , pointed to the Joe Biden doll and said , `` If you pull this cord , he talks for 45 minutes . '' McCain added , `` It 's great if you want to clear out a party . '' The skit ended with the senator delivering the signature line that opens the show every weekend : `` Live from New York , it 's Saturday Night . '' iReport.com : Palin talks equality with iReporter . McCain also joined cast member Seth Meyers in the `` Weekend Update '' segment , where he unveiled radical last-minute campaign strategies he was considering . Among them was the 'Reverse Maverick ' ( `` that 's where I do whatever anybody tells me '' ) , the 'Double Maverick ' ( `` that 's where I go totally berserk or just freak everybody out , even the regular mavericks '' ) and the `` Sad Grandpa . '' `` That 's where I get on TV and go , 'Come on , Obama 's gon na have plenty of chances to be president . It 's my turn , ' '' he said . McCain has made two previous appearances on the show , which airs Saturday nights on NBC . The program , which has drawn attention for its political skits this year , garnered its highest rating in 14 seasons two weeks ago when Palin made an appearance . Obama canceled an appearance in September as a result of Hurricane Ike , but he appeared on the show in November 2007 , making an unannounced cameo during an opening skit about a Halloween party at the house of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton , Obama 's rival during the Democratic primary .
Sen. John McCain appears on `` Saturday Night Live '' with wife , Cindy . McCain also appears with ex-cast member Tina Fey playing Alaska Gov . Sarah Palin . McCain alludes to Sen. Barack Obama 's infomercial , proposed town hall meetings .