Tara Brautigam, THE CANADIAN PRESS

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ST. PAUL, Minn. - U.S. President George W. Bush, his presidency beleaguered by his decision to go to war in Iraq, praised John McCain's unwavering support to combat terrorism and said McCain was the type of leader to protect America in dangerous times.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ron Edmonds

First Lady Laura Bush walks off the stage as U.S. President Bush addresses the convention on a giant monitor.

Bush passed the Republican torch to his successor at the party's convention, and in doing so played up McCain's image as a relentless warrior.

McCain's understanding of the lessons of Sept. 11 and his support for the Iraq war make him ready to be the nation's next commander-in-chief, Bush said via satellite from Washington to the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn.

"We live in a dangerous world," Bush said.

"To protect America, we must stay on the offence, stop attacks before they happen and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain."

Bush, whose decision to send the military to Iraq has been increasingly viewed with disdain by the public, praised McCain's resolute support for the war in the face of such doubts.

"That is the kind of courage and vision we need in our next commander-in-chief," Bush said.

"He is ready to lead the nation."

The image of Bush making his address alone before a television camera in the White House was shown on giant screens to the delegates in St. Paul, Minn.

The fact that he's not at the convention in person provided some relief for those party supporters who are weary of Bush's controversial eight-year record as president. His unpopularity is so great that many Republicans, including McCain, have been careful not to be too closely associated with his legacy, fearing electoral backlash.

But at the convention, throngs of party faithful stood and loudly cheered as Bush addressed the delegates.

Bush spoke for less than 10 minutes, a condensed time worked out in negotiations between Bush and McCain aides. His brief appearance during prime-time seemed to be the middle ground between giving Bush a major convention role and shutting him out entirely.

After hurricane Gustav's landfall forced the postponement of Bush's speech and revelry on Monday, delegates were keen to move on with the show.

But they were treading carefully around the question over whether the president's tenure would haunt McCain's chances of winning the November election.

"He happens to be a member of the Republican party and we're excited to have him in the White House, but we're excited about Senator McCain being the next president," said Juan Carlos, a delegate from New York.

Bruce Thompson, a California delegate, said Bush had nothing to apologize for.

"He's been an excellent president ... under his watch, a lot of difficult times and he stood up to them," Thompson said in an interview.

"The American people can see beyond the press and see what the press has been trying to do to President Bush for the last seven and a half years ... they are not going to vote for a socialist. This is not a socialist country, unlike yours."

Bush's speech came as questions continued to swirl over whether Sarah Palin was the most appropriate choice as McCain's running mate.

The Alaskan governor announced a day earlier that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant and that a lawyer had been retained to represent her in an investigation into the dismissal of the state public safety commissioner.

And Palin's reputation as a political reformist also took a blow Tuesday after it was revealed she previously sought pork-barrel projects for her town and state.

The disclosures raised questions about whether Palin's background was fully assessed before she was chosen, though McCain's team insisted he had known about her daughter's pregnancy.

McCain said: "The vetting process was completely thorough and I'm grateful for the results."

Actor Jon Voight caused a stir at the convention when he accused the media of orchestrating the controversy surrounding Palin's daughter.

"You have the ability to make it a distraction," Voight told several reporters. "I say let's put our attention on this kid with love and not make this trauma worse than it is."

Palin, who is in St. Paul but has so far shied away from the media spotlight, was scheduled to address the convention Wednesday in a speech intended to acquaint her with the rest of the nation.

Former Democrat turned independent Joe Lieberman and TV star and former senator Fred Thompson also spoke.

Thompson reinforced McCain's image as a maverick unafraid of standing by his principles in the face of adversity.

"The same character that marked John McCain's military career has also marked his political career ... McCain is not intimidated by what the polls say or by what is politically safe or popular," he said, before delegates erupted into cheers of "USA! USA!"

The crowd's loudest reaction of the night came when Thompson said the United States needs a president who doesn't believe that the protection of the unborn is above his pay grade - a thinly veiled swipe at Barack Obama.

Obama supports abortion rights, while McCain opposes them.

In his speech to the convention, Lieberman added: "We are a nation at war. We need a president we can count on to fight for what's right for our country - not only when it is easy, but when it is hard."

The revamped schedule suggested that convention planners were easing back into partisan politics with the goal of winning independent-minded voters.

Thompson is best known for his portrayal of a gruff district attorney on NBC's "Law & Order," while Lieberman left the Democratic party after losing a Senate primary and has angered many Democrats by criticizing their presidential nominee, Barack Obama.