Absolutely Fit To Travel
President Bush ran three miles and took a walk in the woods with the first lady Sunday at Camp David, resuming an active schedule after his colon screening.
The president and Laura Bush also attended church services at the chapel at the presidential retreat in western Maryland.
"I feel great," said the president, shortly after his Marine One helicopter landed on the South Lawn of the White House. "I got up this morning and went for a nice run, went to church."
He said that because results of the checkup showed no danger signs, "the best news is that I don't have to have this procedure for another five years."
"I also recommend this procedure for anyone over 50," said Mr. Bush. "They say it will help reduce the chances of colon cancer. ... As unpleasant as it may sound, it is necessary and worth it."
President Bush, who faces a busy week of travel, was to speak Monday in Cleveland about his domestic agenda. The city was the subject of last week's Supreme Court decision approving private-school vouchers, even for schools operated by churches. President Bush supports the taxpayer subsidies.
A trip to Milwaukee on Tuesday is intended to highlight the president's efforts to involve religious groups in the administration of welfare programs.
On Wednesday, the president and first lady are taking part in a White House ceremony anticipating next year's 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark cross-continent expedition.
The Bushes are to be in Ripley, W.Va., on Thursday for a July Fourth celebration, where veterans will be honored.
The week of activity comes after a routine colon screening Saturday morning that led the president to transfer his authority to Vice President Dick Cheney for two and a quarter hours.
The checkup found no polyps or other abnormalities. Air Force Col. Richard Tubb, the president's physician, said the chief executive "continues to be in outstanding health."
It was only the second time in history that the Constitution's presidential disability clause was invoked. Mr. Bush was sedated during the 20-minute procedure. Although it is considered a routine checkup, the president said he authorized the power transfer as a precaution because of the war on terror.
The procedure, a colonoscopy, was done at Camp David's medical facility.
Doctors had recommended President Bush undergo the procedure after two benign polyps were found during two previous colonoscopies - one in July 1998 and the other in December 1999.
Colon screening is considered a standard preventive procedure for men of Mr. Bush's age. The president is a fitness advocate who runs 3 miles a day, neither drinks nor smokes, and has prodded out-of-shape Americans to follow his example by exercising more and eating less junk food.
The test is designed to determine whether a patient has colon cancer, which kills more than 50,000 Americans annually and is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, behind lung cancer.
About 2 million Americans a year get colonoscopies.