CHARLOTTE — Republicans paid $1,000 a plate Wednesday to raise money and hear their vice presidential nominee, Dick Cheney, speak at a luncheon.

But for Cheney, the Charlotte stop was more like a cup of coffee.

Pressed for time after posing for photographs in a side salon, Cheney and his wife, Lynne, breezed into the luncheon room just as the diners started on their salads.

Cheney spoke about 15 minutes, mostly on military preparedness, and just as quickly exited through a side door, leaving U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms and many other state Republican dignitaries to finish lunch on their own.

Still, the appearance of George W. Bush’s running mate proved enough for the lunch crowd, as Cheney described a U.S. military that he contends is low on morale, resources and training thanks to almost eight years of the Clinton-Gore administration.

“Everything he said was very true, it really was,” said Salisbury businessman Frank Goodnight, who attended the lunch. “It’s somewhat scary.”

Cheney agreed with Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore that the U.S. military is the world’s finest fighting force, but he offered the caveat that Gore and President Clinton have allowed a military decline on their watch.

“The trouble is, all the trends are in the wrong direction,” Cheney told the crowd of about 200 at the Charlotte Marriott City Center.

Dan Gurley, director of the N.C. Republican Party, said he believes the Bush-Cheney ticket remains ahead in North Carolina, though he hasn’t seen a poll since the Republican National Convention. As of now, Bush is not scheduled to campaign in North Carolina.

“We hope to have him at a later date,” Gurley said, adding that it’s a better investment of Bush’s time to concentrate in other states where his battle with Democrat Gore is closer.

“Having said that, it’s obvious they’re not taking the state for granted,” Gurley said. He noted that Bush has been running an advertisement this week in North Carolina, in addition to Cheney’s visit Wednesday.

Cheney said he and Bush, the Texas governor, were taking nothing for granted and were “committed to fighting until the last day.”

High-profile Republicans attending the Charlotte luncheon included Helms, former Sen. Lauch Faircloth, gubernatorial candidate Richard Vinroot, state GOP Chairman Bill Cobey, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory and U.S. House members Richard Burr, Sue Myrick and Cass Ballenger.

The North Carolina Victory 2000 luncheon attracted a crowd mostly in business attire who gave standing ovations to Cheney on his entrance and exit and polite applause during his brief talk. Goodnight, of Salisbury, said he favors the Bush-Cheney ticket because of its support of business.

The Charlotte stop was part of a five-state swing for Cheney this week. The former Wyoming congressman also spoke on the shape of the military at appearances in Mississippi and, later Wednesday, in Atlanta. In Kansas City, Mo., Cheney discussed character education.

Bush campaigned in New Hampshire Wednesday, focusing on paying for higher education. He has proposed raising the first-year maximum Pell Grant for college from $3,300 to $5,100 and supports tax exemptions for parents who participate in tuition savings programs and a $1.5-billion federal investment to start state merit scholarship programs.

In Charlotte, Cheney stressed that decisions made today in the military affect its readiness 10 to 25 years in the future. A president has to go to war with what his predecessors leave him, Cheney said.

After the United States won the Persian Gulf War, Cheney said one of his first calls as defense secretary was to former President Ronald Reagan, to thank him for rebuilding the country’s military in the 1980s.

The U.S. military received $50 billion more than the Clinton-Gore administration wanted to allow it in the most recent budget, only because of a Republican Congress, Cheney said.

“We’re still short,” he added.

Cheney said the Clinton administration has over-committed U.S. military forces while shrinking the size of the military and not provided the training, recruitment or modernization required for maintaining a quality force. He said anecdotal evidence and hard analysis support those claims.

At other stops this week, Cheney has had to explain military budget cuts he oversaw in the Bush administration.