Republicans began laying out a vigorous argument yesterday for electing John McCain to the presidency, using the second day of their national convention in St. Paul, Minn., to portray the senator from Arizona as an independent-minded leader who would represent a clean break from the eight-year Bush administration.

After canceling most of its opening-day program because of Hurricane Gustav, the GOP returned to regular order last night with speeches from McCain friends and allies who extolled his judgment and character. Among them were Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-independent who was Al Gore's running mate in 2000, and President Bush, who spoke by satellite video from the White House and hailed the candidate as ready to make the tough choices necessary for keeping the country safe.

Bush singled out McCain's vocal support for a troop "surge" in Iraq at a time when other lawmakers had lost confidence in the war. "One senator above all had faith in our troops and the importance of their mission, and that was John McCain," the president said in prepared remarks. "Some told him that his early and consistent call for more troops would put his presidential campaign at risk. He told them he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war."

Bush's words served to buttress one of the main goals the McCain campaign had set for the second night of the convention: to present the candidate as a leader who puts country before party and speaks his mind regardless of the political toll. But Bush's presence, even if only on the big screens at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center, also complicated McCain's difficult task of convincing war-weary Americans that his administration would represent a departure from Bush in a year in which many voters say they want change in Washington.

To make the case that he, rather than Democratic rival Barack Obama, is the candidate who has the credentials to work across the aisle, McCain turned to his close friend Lieberman, who was ostracized by the Democratic Party for supporting Bush on the war. Said the senator from Connecticut: "I'm here tonight because John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead our country forward. I'm here because John McCain's whole life testifies to a great truth: Being a Democrat or a

Republican is important. But it is not more important than being an American."

The delegates also heard from actor and former senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee, who ran against McCain in the Republican primaries but saluted him in his address for his independence and took a shot at Obama's carefully scripted visit to war zones this summer.

"He has been to Iraq eight times since 2003," Thompson said of McCain in prepared remarks. "He went seeking truth, not publicity. When he travels abroad, he prefers quietly speaking to the troops amidst the heat and hardship of their daily lives. And the same character that marked John McCain's military career has also marked his political career. This man, John McCain, is not intimidated by what the polls say or by what is politically safe or popular."

Even as Republicans tried to regain a sense of normalcy after a tumultuous start to their convention, the atmosphere surrounding the gathering continued to be dominated by debate over the credentials of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate. The campaign responded strongly to coverage of the announcement Monday that Palin's unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, as McCain advisers and delegates complained about what they view as media bias against their candidate. But questions surfaced about the campaign's repeated assertion that the vetting process for Palin was thorough and complete.

With the exception of a brief photo opportunity with McCain's wife, Cindy, and first lady Laura Bush, Palin spent yesterday secluded at a Minneapolis hotel preparing for her convention speech tonight. McCain advisers acknowledged that Palin's address will be one of the two most critical events of the gathering - the other being McCain's speech tomorrow accepting the party's nomination - and that it will be an opportunity to make a positive first impression with the American people and to rebut efforts by Democrats to present her as an inexperienced ideologue.

Speaking with Washington Post reporters and editors early yesterday, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis dismissed the controversy over Palin as little more than a media creation. Citing what he said were Palin's efforts to fight corruption and wasteful spending in Alaska, Davis said that the vice presidential pick has a "much better story than what is currently going on in the news media" and that she has excited the party's base voters.

McCain broke his silence yesterday over the turbulent rollout of Palin's candidacy, offering a brief defense of his staff's investigation of her background in response to a question while campaigning in Pennsylvania. "The vetting process was completely thorough, and I'm grateful for the results," he said during a visit with the Philadelphia Fire Department's Engine Company 56.

Later, in Cleveland, McCain said of Palin: "America's excited and they're going to be even more excited once they see her tomorrow night." He added: "I'm very, very proud of the impression she's made on all of America and looking forward to serving with her."

McCain has maintained an abbreviated campaign schedule over the past two days as he has prepared for his acceptance speech. He is scheduled to arrive in St. Paul today, but will not stay long. He and Palin have scheduled rallies in battleground states - Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico - beginning Friday.

In a preview of the final two days of the convention, Davis and other McCain surrogates made clear that their ambition is to wrest away the change issue that has been Obama's message. McCain originally made his mark in Washington by bucking his party on issues such as campaign finance reform and taxes, but he has moved closer to party orthodoxy as he has sought to keep a skeptical conservative base in the fold. That shift has exposed him to repeated attacks from the Obama campaign, which has argued consistently that his election would represent a perpetuation of the Bush administration.

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