Cheney not at the speech

Vice President Dick Cheney sat out President Bush's address Thursday night to a joint session of Congress.

Cheney was at an undisclosed location when Bush entered the House chamber. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., president pro tem of the Senate, joined House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., on the dais behind Bush.

It is tradition for one Cabinet secretary to stay behind as the president delivers State of the Union addresses or other speeches before Congress, to maintain leadership in the event of a catastrophe.

That duty fell Thursday to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. The rare move of excepting Cheney as well was "a reminder of how serious this is," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

A Senate historian said it was the first time that a vice president stayed away from a joint session of Congress to ensure that the line of presidential succession be maintained.