McCain 'ready to lead this nation': Bush

Last Updated: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 | 11:43 PM ET

CBC News

U.S. President George W. Bush speaks to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., via satellite on Tuesday. (Ron Edmonds/Associated Press)

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain showed great courage by jeopardizing his bid for the White House in order to support the war in Iraq and is "ready to lead this nation," U.S. President George W. Bush said Tuesday.

Bush made the remarks in a speech to delegates at the Republican National Convention, which is getting back on track after a pause for Hurricane Gustav. Bush delivered the speech by satellite from the White House.

"We need a president who understands the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001," Bush said in the prepared text of the speech. "That to protect America, we must stay on offence, stop attacks before they happen and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain."

The U.S. president was supposed to address delegates in person at the convention in St. Paul, Minn., on Monday, but those plans were cancelled when Bush announced he would travel to areas affected by Gustav instead.

McCain was in Pennsylvania and Ohio during the day, campaigning his way into the convention city, where the 72-year-old Arizona senator will deliver his speech to formally accept the Republican party nomination for president on Thursday night.

While introducing her husband Tuesday night, Laura Bush described McCain as a "a real American hero."

Following Bush's brief speech, former Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman was the main attraction Tuesday, the second day of the Republican convention.

Lieberman, the Democrats' vice-presidential candidate in 2000, left the Democratic party after losing a Senate primary, and has angered many Democrats by criticizing their nominee, Barack Obama.

Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman, a former Democratic vice-presidential candidate, addresses the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., on Tuesday. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)

Lieberman criticized the Democratic presidential candidate for voting to cut off funding "for our troops on the ground" in Iraq last year. He then lauded McCain for taking the unpopular position of supporting a troop surge.

"Because of that, today America's troops are coming home, thousands of them, and they're coming home in honour," said the Connecticut Democratic-turned-independent senator.

"Tonight, I want to ask you, whether you are an independent, a Reagan Democrat, a Clinton Democrat, or just a plain old Democrat: this year, when you vote for president, vote for the person you believe is best for our country, not for the party you happen to belong to," Lieberman said.

Fred Thompson, McCain's former rival for the Republican presidential nomination, used his convention speech to defend McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was thrust into controversy on the weekend after acknowledging her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant.

Speaking to delegates at the Xcel Energy Center, Thompson described Palin as being "from a small town, with small-town values, but that's not good enough for those folks who are attacking her and her family."

He said McCain's decision to place her on the ticket "has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic.

"We need a president who doesn't think that the protection of the unborn or a newly born baby is above his pay grade," said Thompson, who is best known by most Americans for his role as a district attorney on NBC's Law and Order.