AMY GOODMAN: At the first full day of the Republican National Convention here in St. Paul, President Bush, Senator Joseph Lieberman and former presidential candidate Fred Thompson urged the country to elect Senator John McCain president.

During his speech, President Bush compared progressive critics of his administration with the North Vietnamese who captured John McCain and held him as a prisoner of war for over five years during the Vietnam War.

President Bush had originally been scheduled to address the convention at the Xcel Energy Center on Monday, but his speech was canceled due to Hurricane Gustav. On Tuesday, the President spoke via a live video feed from the White House.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I know what it takes to be president. In these past eight years, I’ve sat at the Resolute desk and reviewed the daily intelligence briefings, the threat assessments and the reports from our commanders on the front lines. I’ve stood in the ruins of buildings knocked down by killers and promised the survivors I would never let them down. I know the hard choices that fall solely to a president. John McCain’s life has prepared him to make those choices. He is ready to lead this nation.


From the day of his commissioning, John McCain was a respected naval officer who made decisions on which the lives of others depended. As an elected public servant, he earned the respect of colleagues in both parties as a man to follow when there’s a tough call to make.


John McCain’s life is a story of service above self. Forty years ago in an enemy prison camp, Lieutenant Commander McCain was offered release ahead of others who had been held longer. His wounds were so severe that anyone would have understood if he had accepted. John refused. For that selfless decision, he suffered nearly five more years of beatings and isolation. When he was released, his arms had been broken, but not his honor.


Fellow citizens, if the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain’s resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be sure the angry left never will.

AMY GOODMAN: President Bush, addressing the Republican National Convention via satellite from the White House Tuesday.