Reagan Returns to White House, Says He Is Feeling Great

President Reagan, “feeling great,” returned from the hospital to the White House today and predicted he’ll soon be saddling up to go horseback riding despite his bout with prostate surgery.

Cheering White House staffers held up handmade signs with such messages as “My Hero!” and “Go Get ‘em” as Reagan’s helicopter set down on the lawn of the executive mansion after an eight-minute flight from Bethesda Naval Hospital.

Vice President George Bush stepped forward with a handshake for the President and a kiss for Nancy Reagan. Also on hand were Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan, Frank C. Carlucci, Reagan’s new national security adviser, and other senior presidential aides.

Presidential spokesman Larry Speakes said Reagan will meet with aides in his residential quarters this week and will deliver his weekly radio address from there on Saturday.

Six-Week Recuperation

When in Washington, Reagan normally makes the radio speech from the Oval Office. Speakes said the President is expected to resume a schedule in the Oval Office next week and to be fully recovered in about six weeks.

At Bethesda, where he had been a patient since Sunday, Reagan walked along a row of uniformed Navy men and women and shook hands before boarding his helicopter in crisp, sunny weather.

“I feel great,” he said.

Asked whether he was ready to go back to work, Reagan, who met with advisers while in the hospital, said: “Of course. I haven’t stopped.”

At the White House, the crowd burst into cheers as Reagan stepped from the helicopter and walked toward an entrance with the First Lady at his side.

What for an Encore?

“What do you do for an encore?” a reporter called out.

“An appendectomy,” the grinning President replied after consulting with his wife.

The next question was when he expected to get back to horseback riding, one of his favorite forms of recreation.

“Pretty soon,” he answered. “It’s got to get a little warmer.”

Speakes said Reagan’s doctors had advised him to avoid heavy lifting, wood chopping, horseback riding or other strenuous exercise during the six-week recovery period. He said he did not know whether the President would make his usual February trip to his California ranch.

Walking the Western Way

When reporters said Reagan appeared to them to be walking stiffly, Speakes grinned and said:

“He generally walks that way anyway. It comes from the Western movies. That’s the way they walk down Main Street.”