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.

"It's a chance for her to actually get out and tell her story," Davis said.

House Minority Leader John Boehner told USA TODAY Tuesday that Palin was a "marvelous" pick who shares McCain's willingness to buck the GOP establishment. He called her the "lady next door" who can help secure the middle-class, hard-working, independent-thinking voters whose support Democratic nominee Barack Obama struggled to get in his party's primary race.

"When you look at the voters that Hillary (Rodham) Clinton had in her contest with Barack Obama, the ones that Obama can't quite get his arms around, she can," Boehner said. "That's why she's on the ticket."

After President Bush delivers his speech, the headliners for the day will be Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson.

Lieberman, the Connecticut senator who was Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000 and is now an independent, is scheduled to give a speech Tuesday night titled "The Original Maverick: John McCain." Lieberman is a frequent traveling companion of McCain, and endorsed the Arizona senator last year.

Fred Thompson, an actor and former rival of McCain in the GOP primaries, will give a speech focusing on the "courage and service" of McCain. Thompson is best known to TV viewers as District Attorney Arthur Branch from Law & Order.

McCain spent the morning in Philadelphia, meeting with a group of firefighters and expressing his relief that Gustav didn't wreak as much havoc as once feared.

"We're grateful for all their hard work which has minimized casualties and we feel very fortunate and thank God that the damage has not been more serious," McCain said.

First lady Laura Bush addressed several state delegations near the convention site Tuesday morning, telling them about her husband's challenging but successful presidency, highlighting the strong record of McCain and expressing her excitement over Palin's selection as the vice presidential nominee.

"I'm so excited to have this chance to vote for a Republican woman. I didn't think I'd get a chance so soon," she told members of the Colorado and Idaho delegations gathered in Minneapolis.

Davis said GOP officials had been meeting since 5 a.m. Tuesday to determine whether the situation in New Orleans had improved enough to get their convention back on a regular track. He said after consulting with FEMA and monitoring reports from the city, they determined that the convention could return to normal.

"Obviously, we lost a lot of opportunities to communicate some messages last night," Davis said.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was scheduled to deliver the keynote address Tuesday, but his speech will now be pushed back in the week, possibly to Wednesday, Davis said. Giuliani is also a former McCain rival for the GOP nomination, but dropped out after a dismal showing in the Florida primary. Giuliani, who was leading national polls for the nomination for much of 2007, never won a state or a delegate.

Contributing: David Jackson; Associated Press.