Back to politics: Bush to speak

ST. PAUL -- President Bush will address the Republican National Convention after all — via a live video feed from the White House Tuesday night instead of in person at the Xcel Energy Center here.

As party officials scrambled to readjust their nominating party for presumptive nominee John McCain because of Hurricane Gustav, convention organizers said Tuesday that first lady Laura Bush would be onstage in the convention hall while her husband is beamed in via satellite.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney were supposed to give speeches on Monday, but Hurricane Gustav's landfall that morning forced a change in the schedule and tone of the four-day convention. McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told reporters Tuesday morning that recovery from Gustav, a Category 2 hurricane, has become a "central theme" in the convention and raising money to assist those hurt by the storm will continue.

Davis said vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will deliver her speech to delegates sometime this week despite the "swirling" reports surrounding her. The vice presidential pick usually speaks on Wednesday, the third day of the convention.

Palin and her husband, Todd, disclosed on Monday that their 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant and will marry the father of her child. The disclosure has sparked questions about the vetting process used to select the Alaska governor as McCain's running mate.

"The vetting process was completely thorough and I'm grateful for the results," McCain told reporters in Philadelphia Tuesday morning.

Later in the day at a firehouse in suburban Cleveland, McCain said: "I just want to repeat again how excited I am to have Sarah Palin, the great Governor of Alaska, as my running mate. America's excited and they're going to be even more excited once they see her tomorrow night. I'm very, very proud of the impression she's made on all of America and looking forward to serving with her."

Davis did not say whether Palin would address some of the questions surrounding her tenure as Alaska governor, including her role in dismissing the state's public safety commissioner. The Alaska Legislature disclosed Monday that a private lawyer was hired to represent Palin in a state investigation on the matter.