US Elections: Fred Thompson to Lead Praise of John Mccain

The Republican party is seeking to resume normal service at its convention with high-profile speakers lined up to praise John McCain in his presidential election contest with Barack Obama.

Republicans say Fred Thompson, one of the failed presidential hopefuls, and Joe Lieberman, the Democrat turned independent, will speak tonight about McCain's biography and their friendship with him.

Aides said McCain would probably deliver his nomination acceptance speech in person tomorrow.

White House officials held out the possibility that George Bush would make a televised address to the convention from Washington, although the McCain campaign has tried to distance itself from the highly unpopular president.

Bush and Dick Cheney, the vice-president, canceled their appearances yesterday, even before convention organizers decided to scale back ceremonies because of Hurricane Gustav.

As Gustav forced a scaledown of the normal convention hoopla, McCain's vice-presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor, appears to have energized the Republican base.

McCain's surprise choice of a political unknown has injected fresh energy into the McCain campaign, leading to larger crowds at his rallies. Since he made the announcement last Friday, his campaign has raised $10m (?5m), contributing to an August tally of $47m.

But Palin's family life has proved to be a distraction. She and her husband, Todd, yesterday announced that their 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant. They said the news was being released to counter internet rumors that Palin's five-month-old son is actually her daughter's baby.

Republicans have been talking up Palin. "I just think she's remarkable," Cindy McCain told Fox News. "She truly is a great match for my husband."

In Monroe, Michigan, Barack Obama condemned rumors involving the children of candidates and echoed the McCain campaign argument.

He said: "I think people's families are off limits, and people's children are especially off limits."

Prominent religious conservatives rallied behind Palin. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, commended the Palins "for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances".

Details of Palin's family life raised questions about the McCain campaign's vetting process. The man who led McCain's vice-presidential search team said he thought everything that had come up as a possible red flag during the background check had now been made public.

"I think so," Arthur Culvahouse told the Associated Press. "Yes. I think so. Correct."

With Hurricane Gustav dominating the headlines yesterday, Laura Bush, the first lady, joined forces with Cindy McCain at the cut-down convention in St Paul, Minnesota, to appeal for cash for victims.

The first lady received a standing ovation when she appeared, as did the would-be first lady when she appeared 10 minutes later.

Although Gustav turned out to be less serious than predicted, Republicans are keen to be seen to be sensitive after the failure of Bush to act when New Orleans was flooded in 2005.

With almost all of the first day of the convention scrapped, the hall was only a third full. The arrival of Laura Bush and Cindy McCain came as a relief to the delegates after two hours of procedural discussion necessary - for legal reasons - to nominate McCain.