Dick Cheney, Powerful Vice President and Washington Insider, Dies at 84 - The New York Times — Love him or hate him. He’s one of a kind. A true model of an active vice-president.
On Sept. 11, 2001, when hijacked airliners destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and crashed into the Pentagon and into a Pennsylvania field, killing nearly 3,000 people in the nation’s worst terrorist attack, it was Mr. Cheney who took charge at the White House. Image
Mr. Bush, who was visiting a school in Florida as the attacks took place, was shuttled to secure locations in Louisiana and Nebraska. The vice president activated defense measures across the nation, put American forces on alert around the world and ordered the Capitol evacuated and government leaders removed to safety. From a White House bunker, he maintained continuous contact with the president and other officials and kept what many called a steady hand at the helm through the crisis.