Former ambassador Sichan Siv

The Republican National Convention, underway in St. Paul, Minn., was back on track Wednesday, following the distraction of Hurrican Gustav, and participants were showing a lot of energy, a Cambodian former ambassador said.

Sichan Siv, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, is attending the convention, which officially named Sen. John McCain as the party's presidential candidate.

Sichan Siv told VOA Khmer by phone from the convention McCain made a good candidate because of his lifelong achievements in public office and the military.

McCain is a veteran pilot of the Vietnam War, and was held for years as a prisoner of war.

McCain's foreign policy experience in dealing with Asia also made him a good choice, Sichan Siv said, dismissing concerns of the candidate's age, 72.

With advancements in medicine, Sichan Siv said, people will soon live beyond 100 years of age.