Ex-Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge thinks John McCain needs to carry Pennsylvania to win the White House, and says he's the guy who could have helped, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

"I think the dynamics would be different in Pennsylvania," Ridge told the paper. McCain "had several good choices and I was one of them."

Ridge hasn't run in Pennsylvania since he was re-elected in 1998, but as a moderate from the Pittsburgh area, he may have helped McCain exploit what looks like a natural divide between more culturally conservative voters and Barack Obama.

Ridge may be right, but it's hard to see how any vice presidential nominee could overcome the 10.7 points by which McCain trails in the latest RCP Pennsylvania Average.