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American Morning

Dick Cheney Back at the Office

Aired July 02, 2001 - 11:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now for the latest on the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency: Dick Cheney is back at the office today, just barely a couple days after getting a new heart device implanted in his chest. Let's check in on the vice president with Major Garrett.

Major, good morning, again.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

The beat goes on, checking with the ticker on Wall Street. You guys are just doing that to try see if I can keep a straight face through all this, aren't you?

A little bit of detail about the vice president's day: He arrived here at 7:45 this morning -- normal time. He spent the entire morning with President Bush talking about, among other things, the economy, national security and international policy issues and the legislative strategy for this White House. Congress is out of town this week, but there is a tremendous amount of work the White House wants to do on issues like the patients bill of rights and the energy proposal that the president has put forward to Congress.

And in that regard, the vice president will spend a good deal of afternoon promoting that on some talk radio stations, one in Wheeling, West Virginia, one in Rochester, New York, and then one that reaches 50 radio affiliates in the Northwest of the United States, mostly agricultural radio stations, all a part of his push to promote that energy plan.

His spokeswoman, Juleanna Glover Weiss, tells CNN the vice president still feels a bit of soreness right here in his shoulder. That's where that defibrillator was installed. He's treating it with Tylenol only, she says, and otherwise feels great.

As for the president himself, well, on Saturday, when he was meeting out at Camp David with the new Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, he said that even if he tried to, he could not persuade Vice President Cheney to reduce his workload.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think he ought to listen to his body. And I think he ought to -- which he has been doing. And I think he ought to work at a pace that he is comfortable with. And I know Dick Cheney well. And if I were to say, "You've got to slow down, Mr. Vice President," he's going to say, "Forget it."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: That would probably also be the advice of his doctors, who say the outpatient procedure on Saturday went beautifully and the vice president really does not need to slow down, can return to work, as he has, today. As for the rest of the week, he's got a normal workday on Tuesday, will take most of the Fourth of July off on Wednesday, and then leave on Thursday for what aides describe as an elongated weekend vacation at his home -- vacation home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Major Garrett at the White House, thank you.

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