It's still possible President Bush will have a speaking role at the GOP Convention. The White House says he may give a televised address from Washington.
The decision on Bush's role, if any, appears to rest with John McCain's campaign.
Bush had planned to speak at the convention's opening day but skipped it to monitor the federal response to Hurricane Gustav hitting the Gulf Coast.
First lady Laura Bush spoke from the podium in St. Paul, Minnesota, about hurricane relief, as did McCain's wife, Cindy.
Virtually the only political business of the convention's 2 1/2-hour session was approval of a platform that sidestepped the Iraq War, one of the key issues in the campaign between McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
Today's convention activities will likely include a keynote address by New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.