Cheney not ready for transplant

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday he'll have to make a decision "at some point" about whether to have a heart transplant.

In an interview on NBC's "Today" Show, Cheney talked about the pump he received to move blood through his ailing heart.

"It in effect takes blood from the ventricle chamber of your heart and moves it into your aorta," he said. "And it significantly increases the amount of blood flow you've got going, which is vital when you get to end stage heart failure.

Cheney said he'll have to "make a decision at some point whether or not I want to go for a transplant" but added that "we haven't addressed that yet."

Cheney said he stands by his earlier prediction that Barack Obama will serve only one term as president of the United States.

Questioned about the Tucson shooting, Cheney said we have to be careful about assuming the rest of society or the political class bears responsibility for what happened.

"It was the act of a deranged, crazed individual," he said. "Our politics can get pretty rough at times but the fact of the matter is that good tough political fights are one of the strengths of our democracy."