At the unveiling of the official portraits of George W. Bush and Laura Bush, President Obama has some kind words for his predecessor.

Said Obama: “Finally, on a personal note, Michelle and I are grateful to the entire Bush family for their guidance and example during our own transition. George, I will always remember the gathering you hosted for all of the living former presidents before I took office. Your fine words of encouragement. Plus you also left me a really good TV sports package. I use it.”

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is recovering at Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, VA after undergoing heart transplant surgery today, NPR reports.

Associated Press: “Cheney suffered a heart attack in 2010, his fifth since the age of 37. He had bypass surgery in 1988, as well as two subsequent angioplasties to clear narrowed coronary arteries. In 2001, he had a special pacemaker implanted in his chest.”

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has cancelled an April appearance in Toronto citing concerns Canada is too dangerous, the National Post reports.

Said the even organizer: “He felt that in Canada the risk of violent protest was simply too high.”

“The sixth anniversary earlier this month of Dick Cheney shooting his buddy in the face during a quail hunt went largely unnoticed… except for the ceremonial consumption of a quail snack,” The Daily reports.

Said Harry Whittington: “It was a commemorative hors d’oeuvre.”

“Six years after the incident, Whittington, 84, is still riddled with the bird shot Cheney accidentally hit him with. Some 30 odd pellets are lodged in the lining of his heart, his gums, his hand, his forehead, and the bridge of his nose… But rather than complain, Whittington refers to the lead embedded in his
body as ‘memorabilia,’ and says that he and Cheney remain in touch and
still trade hunting tales.”

The New York Times reviews two Bush administration memoirs: Known and Unknown by Donald Rumsfeld and In My Time by Dick Cheney.

“Both books have received mostly negative reviews — largely deserved. Rumsfeld’s book is dense and bloated, although modestly candid. Cheney’s is clearly written (with help from his daughter Liz Cheney), but with the exception of its last chapters, dry, earnest and dull. None of this seems to have had much impact on their sales. Both spent time at the top of the best-seller lists.”

The Hill reviews disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s new book, Capitol Punishment, which says Ralph Reed made a “hard sell” to secure Abramoff’s support for George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential bid. According to the book, Reed said that “Bush personally told him that his presidency would make all of us very rich.”

Asked by The Hill about the anecdote, Reed said: “I don’t recall ever saying that to Jack.”