Obama calls Cheney to wish him a speedy recovery

A White House official said Thursday that the president called Mr. Cheney on Wednesday after the former vice president was released from George Washington University Hospital. Mr. Cheney was treated for what his office called a “mild heart attack,” his fifth over the last three decades.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had previously called his predecessor while Mr. Cheney was still at the hospital. The White House did not announce Mr. Obama’s call on Wednesday but the official confirmed it in response to an inquiry. Mr. Cheney’s spokesman, Peter Long, said the former vice president “thanked him or the call and they enjoyed a pleasant, non-substantive conversation.”