Cheney: U.S. Not Misled About His Health
NewsMax.com Wires
Monday, Dec. 4, 2000
WASHINGTON (UPI) – Republican vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney said Sunday that he would step down from the No. 2 position in the White House if his health deteriorated.
The former secretary of defense has suffered four heart attacks, the most recent a minor attack on Nov. 22. He resumed a busy schedule two days after doctors installed a metal mesh tube, called a stent, in one of his coronary arteries to counteract a narrowing of the artery.
Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," Cheney also rejected suggestions that his running mate, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, misled the country about his health during a news conference in Texas Nov. 22. Speaking to reporters, the governor denied Cheney had had a heart attack: "Subsequent tests, blood tests and the initial EKG showed that he [Cheney] had no heart attack."
Cheney told host Tim Russert, "Let's remember, the governor's in Texas. When I got to the hospital that morning, I walked in under my own steam. … The heart attack label is appropriate in a technical sense, but as heart attacks go, it was not a big deal."
When Russert asked Cheney if he would step aside if his poor health interfered with his job, Cheney said, "Absolutely."
Cheney was released from George Washington Hospital two days after he checked in with chest pains. Dr. John Reiner, Cheney's cardiologist, said there is no reason Cheney's health should prevent him from assuming office.
Cheney said, "If I had any doubts about that, or if they [doctors] expressed any doubts or reservations about my capacity to do the job, I would not do it."
Copyright 2000 by United Press International.
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