Republicans reached out to independent voters Tuesday by featuring Fred Thompson and former Democratic, now Independant, Sen. Joseph Lieberman as prime-time convention speakers, while President Bush was given a less prominent role, appearing briefly by satellite from the White House.

Bush told viewers that John McCain is best-equipped to handle terrorist threats.

"We live in a dangerous world," the president said, "and we need a president who understands the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain."

He also praised McCain’s support of the Iraq war, saying that "one senator above all had faith in our troops and the importance of their mission — and that was John McCain."

Josh Turner, the chairman of the White County Republican Party, said he was most looking forward to hearing from first lady Laura Bush, former Sen. Fred Thompson and Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

"I’m looking forward to hearing from the first lady and from Sen. Thompson," Turner said. "He was a favorite early on in the South."