HARRISBURG -- Former Republican Gov. Tom Ridge knows a thing or two about winning elections in the state of Pennsylvania, where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans.

Mr. Ridge served several terms as a U.S. congressman from Erie and then won two terms as the Keystone State's governor in the 1990s, even though Democrats led in registration numbers.

He flew to the capital from Erie yesterday with Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, and the two men rode Mr. McCain's $1.5 million "Straight Talk Express" bus to a downtown Harrisburg hotel, talking with four reporters along the way.

Mr. Ridge contended that his longtime friend and former colleague in the U.S. House "absolutely" has a decent chance of winning Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes Nov. 4, even though several recent polls have shown him seven to nine points behind the presumed Democratic nominee, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

"Yes, the Democrats have expanded their [registration] numbers. Let's give credit where credit is due," said Mr. Ridge, who attended a McCain political event Sunday night in Erie and will appear with him at a "town meeting" in York today, where 1,000 people are expected.

"But there are a lot of independent-thinking Democrats in this state," Mr. Ridge added. "They voted for me and for several Republican senators."

He said Mr. McCain, a Vietnam-era prisoner of war in Hanoi, "knows how to reach across the [political] aisle and bring people together to solve problems. This state will respond to someone who has the experience to be commander in chief. Pennsylvania has many veterans. They understand what it means to provide for the common defense."

Mr. McCain also said he thinks he can win the state, although he admitted that it may come down to the last few votes counted late on election night.

"We are behind. We are the underdog [in Pennsylvania]. I readily acknowledge that," he said. "But when summer is over, and people start to focus , they will see questions of substance and our positions on the issues. I believe we can win. It will be close."

If Mr. McCain does win Pennsylvania in November, he will be the first GOP presidential candidate to do so since 1988, when George H.W. Bush won the state.

Mr. McCain wouldn't say who is on his short list for vice president. Some pundits think Mr. Ridge could be, since they are close friends, and it would help Mr. McCain to carry Pennsylvania. Mr. Ridge wouldn't talk about that, either. Other observers think Mr. Ridge's support for abortion rights would hurt him with many conservative Republican voters.

Noting that Mr. Ridge also is a military veteran and was the former head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Mr. McCain said: "My respect and appreciation for Gov. Ridge is enormous. But I don't really want to talk about the process [of choosing a vice president]. It would be an invasion of everybody's privacy."

He said the attributes he wants in a vice president include "values, principles, goals, priorities. The first priority is the nation's security."

Referring to Russia's attack on the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Mr. McCain said, "We just found out in the last few days that we still live in a very dangerous world."

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day in Erie, Mr. McCain called for a multipronged diplomatic effort to force Russia to withdraw from Georgia.

Mr. McCain said Russia appears intent on toppling the Georgian government, rather than simply restoring the status quo in the pro-Moscow province of South Ossetia, which Georgia is trying to keep from breaking away.

"NATO's North Atlantic Council should convene in emergency session to demand a cease-fire and begin discussions on both the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to South Ossetia and the implications for NATO's future relationship with Russia," Mr. McCain said.

Mr. McCain said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should go to Europe "to establish a common Euro-Atlantic position aimed at ending the war and supporting the independence of Georgia."

Mr. McCain said his top domestic goals include getting the economy out of its current doldrums, increasing the number of jobs, finding new sources of energy and strengthening the housing market, so people don't lose their homes to foreclosure.

Mr. McCain's age and health have been an issue with some voters. In the past, he has suffered from several bouts with skin cancer, and on Aug. 27, he will turn 72. If elected, he would be the oldest man ever to assume the presidency.

Yesterday, Mr. McCain refused to respond to queries raised about weekend news broadcasts -- including three less-than-forthcoming replies by campaign manager Rick Davis on "Fox News Sunday" -- that he may announce at next month's GOP National Convention that, if elected, he would serve only a single term as president.