Cheney in 'good' shape for possible Friday release

WASHINGTON - Republican vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney, recovering from a ''very slight'' heart attack, might be released from the hospital as early as Friday after getting his appetite back just in time for Thanksgiving.

The 59-year-old Cheney was in good condition at George Washington University Hospital where his examining physician reported he looked great.

''If Cheney continues to do as perfectly as he's doing now he could be discharged as early as tomorrow,'' hospital spokeswoman Lisa Saisselin said Thursday.

He recovered enough to enjoy ''turkey and all the trimmings'' with his family, Saisselin said.

Joining him for Thanksgiving dinner at the hospital were his wife Lynne, his oldest daughter, Liz, her husband, Phil, and three granddaughters, Kate, Elizabeth and Grace.

Cheney said in a statement that he and his family ''appreciate all the kind thoughts and good wishes he's received from Americans across the country'' and they wished ''all Americans a happy Thanksgiving with their families.''

Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman and Cheney spoke by phone Thursday morning, with Lieberman wishing his Republican counterpart a speedy recovery and a happy Thanksgiving, said Kathleen Shanahan, Cheney's chief of staff.

Despite the extraordinary presidential election legal contest, the two had a ''very cordial'' conversation and both vice presidential candidates said ''they would like to get together when this is all resolved,'' Shanahan said.

Aides to GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush, who insisted earlier that they had not tried to conceal the heart attack, say Cheney will be able to resume his duties with the campaign as it fights Democrat Al Gore for the clinching electoral votes in Florida.

''We anticipate that he will continue to be available by phone and the doctors have told us that there are no limitations,'' Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes said. ''He's been involved in the conference calls and the decision making and we expect that will continue.''

''Everything's fine,'' Cheney said in a telephone interview from his hospital bed Wednesday night with CNN's Larry King. He said he hoped to be discharged from the hospital in ''a day or two.''

''It's one of those things where I'd learned, had drummed into me properly over the years, that anytime you feel something that might be cardiac-related, you go check it out,'' Cheney said.

Cheney admitted himself to the hospital about 4:30 a.m. EST Wednesday with chest pains, Lynne at his side. Testing two hours later revealed an artery had narrowed since his last heart checkup in 1996.

One of his arteries was 90 percent blocked and doctors performed an operation to prop it open. Later, the doctors learned Cheney actually had suffered a heart attack.

Through a blood vessel in his leg, doctors threaded a stent to prop open the narrowed artery, a minimally invasive procedure that didn't require putting Cheney under general anesthesia.

Cheney had the procedure performed six hours after being admitted. His personal physician, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, said it would be ''exceedingly unlikely for him to undergo a repeat bypass operation.''

Cheney suffered three heart attacks more than a decade ago and underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 1988 to clear clogged arteries. Doctors gave him a clean bill of health when Bush chose him as his running mate this summer but Cheney has since then refused to release his old medical records.

Under the worst circumstances, a vice president-in-waiting who becomes unable to take office may be replaced by the presidential candidate with the blessing of his party - as long as that happens before the Electoral College meets Dec. 18.