ST. PAUL, Minn. — As evacuees from Gulf Coast states began to make their journeys home Tuesday, the Republican National Convention brought politics back into its four-day event.

On Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., signs were brought out, music filled the auditorium and a lineup of high-profile politicians, including President George W. Bush, had the audience of delegates and alternates on their feet most of the evening cheering.

“We are thankful that the damage in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast was less than many had feared,” said Bush as he addressed the convention via satellite from the White House, an audience that also included his parents, former President George Bush and his wife, Barbara.

“I know what it takes to be president,” Bush said. “John McCain’s life has prepared him to make those choices. He is ready to lead this nation.”

Bush described McCain as an independent man who thinks for himself.

“He’s not afraid to tell you when he disagrees,” Bush said, adding jokingly, “Believe me, I know.”

“No matter what the issue, this man is honest and speaks straight from the heart,” Bush said.

In between speakers, the audience was treated to musical interludes and stories of American heroes, including Petty Officer Michael Monsoor, a Navy SEAL who sacrificed his life by throwing himself onto a grenade to protect his comrades.

Former Tennessee senator and “Law and Order” actor Fred Thompson addressed the convention Tuesday evening, speaking not only about McCain, but Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor and McCain’s vice presidential pick.

“She’s a creative, successful reformer who’s not afraid to take on the establishment,” Thompson said. “Sound like anyone else we know?

“When she and McCain get to Washington, they’re not going to care how much those alligators get aggravated, they’re going to drain that swamp.”

Thompson described McCain as a man who’s had his character tested like “no other president in the history of our nation,” and told stories of McCain’s experience as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.

“America needs a president who understands the nature of the world we live in,” Thompson said. “A president who feels no need to apologize for the United States of America.”

“John McCain can’t raise his arms above his shoulders, he can’t salute the flag of the country for which he sacrificed so much,” Thompson added. “Tonight as we begin this convention, we stand with him and we salute him. We salute his character.”

To wrap up the second day of the convention, Former Democrat and U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent and former Democrat from Connecticut, took to the stage to address unity with no partisan boundaries.

“And that brings me directly to why I’m here tonight. What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this?” Lieberman asked. “The answer is simple. I’m here to support John McCain because country matters more than party.”

“I’m here tonight because John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead our country forward,” he continued. “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.”

Lieberman discussed the decision to simplify the first day of the convention in wake of Gustav’s landfall, and said that was an example of the character McCain would bring to the White House.

“What you can expect from John McCain as president is exactly what he’s done this week: Put our country first,” Lieberman said, which is also the theme of the convention. “That’s not a political posture by John, that’s the code by which he has lived his entire life, and that is the code that he will carry with him into the White House next January.”

As Lieberman finished his address, he once again stressed breaking through partisanship when people head to the polls in November.

“Tonight I want to ask you, whether you are an independent, a Reagan Democrat, a Clinton Democrat or just a plain old Democrat, vote for the person you feel is best for our country,” Lieberman said. “Not for the party you belong to.”