Bush 'Fit For Duty'

(CBS/AP)  President Bush's doctors pronounced him in excellent health after his annual physical examination Saturday and said a calf strain that had slowed his running regimen has healed.

He had several small skin growths treated as a preventive measure, the doctors said after examining Mr. Bush for about 3½ hours at the National Naval Medical Center.

The president chose to have an unspecified number of previously identified nasal telangiectasias cauterized, spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters on Air Force One as Mr. Bush flew to his Texas ranch for a month-long stay.

Telangiectasias are common in people with sun-damaged skin. Mr. Bush's spokesman didn't say what caused them.

Mr. Bush also had four small lesions removed from his cheeks and arm at the hospital. The potentially cancer-causing skin lesions, a common condition known as actinic keratoses, are caused by exposure to the sun.

The president has resumed his running routine after recovering from a muscle tear in his right calf in April that forced him to give up his seven-minute-mile runs for several months, aides said ahead of the exam.

He has lowered his times to about 7½-minute miles, McClellan said.

"He's still running. He's doing a lot of stretching," the spokesman said.

The summary of the physical declared Mr. Bush "in excellent health and fit for duty."

"All data suggests that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency," it said.

Mr. Bush has complained recently about aching knees that he attributes to age, aides said.

Presiding over the medical exam were White House physician Richard Tubb and Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the president of the Cooper Aerobics Center. They also directed Mr. Bush's two previous two physicals.

According to CBS News Correspondent Mark Knoller, doctors said the president's resting heart rate is 45 bpm, and his blood pressure is 110/62.

Mr. Bush's weight is up a bit, to 194, a five pound gain from last year - which his doctors attribute to "muscle growth." The president, who is six feet tall, remains in the "superior" fitness category for a man his age, Knoller adds.

Mr. Bush has been a runner for about three decades and credits exercise with helping him quit drinking more than 15 years ago. His daily exercise routine has included cross-training, swimming and lifting weights.

The president was to use his ranch as a base of operations for the month of August. He planned a series of day trips to attend political fund-raisers around the country and other events.

Mr. Bush is mixing public policy events, mostly on the West Coast, with six fund-raisers in Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington and Minnesota. The practice allows the administration, in certain cases, to bill taxpayers for half the travel costs of the political activity.