ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY Charles Rex Arbogast The New Mexico delegation waves signs during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday in St. Paul, Minn.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY Paul Sancya Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.

U.S. safer with McCain

President Bush promised that the nation would be safer with John McCain as president, saying his life story and sound judgment make the Arizona senator the man Americans need in the White House.

"I've sat at the Resolute desk and received the daily intelligence briefings, the threat assessments and the reports from our commanders on the front lines," Bush told delegates to the Republican National Convention in Minnesota via video hookup from the White House. "I know the hard choices that fall solely to a president. John McCain's life has prepared him to make those choices."

Bush added: "He is ready to lead this nation."

Former Democrat backs GOP

Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential pick eight years ago, criticized his former party's nominee as an untested candidate unwilling to challenge powerful interest groups as both John McCain and President Clinton have done.

The Democrat-turned-Independent called McCain the best choice to lead the country.

"Sen. Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who can do great things for our country in the years ahead," Lieberman said in prepared remarks. "But eloquence is no substitute for a record -- not in these tough times."

The Connecticut lawmaker, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, argued that Obama has not reached across party lines to achieve anything of significance and has been unwilling to take on Democratic interest groups.

Palin asks for investigation

McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has asked the state's personnel board to review allegations that she improperly ordered the firing of the former public safety commissioner.

The move, which her office announced Tuesday, aims to blunt a probe already ordered by the state legislature. Palin is accused of firing Walt Monegan for failing to dismiss a trooper who went through a messy divorce with Palin's sister before she was governor.

In July the legislature launched a $100,000 investigation into whether Palin abused her power in firing Monegan. The Alaska attorney general's office hired Anchorage attorney Thomas Van Flein to represent Palin and members of her staff in this investigation.

The new filing was accompanied by a 13-page accounting of Palin's version of the events, denying any abuse of power.

-- Associated Press