(2004-11-13) -- During Vice President Dick Cheney's precautionary visit to George Washington Hospital Saturday afternoon, President George Bush told an alarmed White House press corps "constitutionally gentlemen, as of now, I am in charge here."

The announcement quelled rumors that President Reagan's former Secretary of State Alexander Haig had stepped in during Mr. Cheney's absence.

Mr. Bush said his time spent with Mr. Cheney during the past four years has prepared him to lead "if, heaven forbid, it should ever come to that."

While the vice president has a history of heart trouble, spokesman Mary Matalin said tests showed that "this time it's only an ordinary cold, not the kind of cold that Soviet leaders used to get."

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