Cheney plays substitute

Vice president Dick Cheney subs for President Bush today at a private fundraiser in Jupiter on behalf of Republican congressional candidate Tom Rooney. Bush was to stay behind in DC to deal with the turbulence in the U.S. economy.

White House spokesman Dana Perino said Cheney was "gracious enough to drop his schedule" for the day and make the trip because Bush determined "there are times when matters in front of the presidency require you to change your schedule, and today was one of those."

Democrat Rep. Tim Mahoney had questioned the trip, saying he was "shocked that President Bush and my opponent would show such poor judgment and choose a time like this" for a fundraiser.

But Perino said fundraising shouldn't be entirely curtailed. "We're in the middle of an election cycle and I don't think that either of the candidates are going to stop fundraising between now Nov. 4th either."