Bush’s Day Shapes Up Well and He Ships Out to Texas

President Bush was feeling very good Tuesday, and who could blame him?

After a thorough annual physical, his doctors pronounced him “in excellent health and fit for duty.”

The president also signed a hard-won bill that grants him broad authority to negotiate trade agreements.

Above all, he was home at last at his beloved Prairie Chapel Ranch, where he intends to spend the rest of this month, mixing work with pure R&R; in the blazing Central Texas heat.

“The president will continue to focus on his three big priorities: winning the war on terrorism, protecting the homeland and strengthening our economy,” said deputy White House press secretary Scott McClellan.

This month, Bush plans to travel to at least 15 cities, including some in California, and will hold an economic forum in Waco on Aug. 13 to highlight his initiatives aimed at revitalizing the economy.

Bush began the day by announcing in the Rose Garden that he will convene a White House conference this fall to focus on ways to better protect U.S. children from harm.

Then he headed off to Bethesda Naval Hospital in suburban Maryland for his annual physical.

The first sign of the findings came not from the president but Dr. Kenneth Cooper, one of the supervising physicians.

“Unbelievable,” Cooper told reporters, giving a double thumbs-up sign for emphasis.

In a subsequent statement signed by Cooper and seven other doctors, the panel reportedBush’s cardiovascular fitness and aerobic capacity rank in the top 1% of men for his age--indeed, in the top 5% for men ages 35 to 39, they added. Bush turned 56 last month.

The 6-foot-tall president weighed in at 189 pounds, three-quarters of a pound less than last year. He takes vitamins and an aspirin daily.

As noted in previous years, Bush suffers from minor allergies, a slight high-frequency hearing loss and minor lower back pain, a condition brought on by weightlifting.

The doctors found no evidence of heart disease and said the president’s cholesterol levels were all in the desirable or optimal range. They said he is in a “very low” coronary risk category.

After the physical, Bush returned to the White House to sign the trade promotion authority bill.

In recent weeks, as the economy has slumped, the president repeatedly called on Congress to send him the legislation, calling it a vital tool in revitalizing the economy.

At the signing ceremony, Bush vowed to vigorously pursue free trade negotiations.

The bill restores to the presidency authority that lapsed in 1994 to negotiate agreements that Congress can approve or reject but cannot amend.

“And now, after eight years, America is back in the business of promoting open trade to build our prosperity and to spur economic growth,” Bush said. “With trade promotion authority, the trade agreements I negotiate will have an up-or-down vote in Congress, giving other countries the confidence to negotiate with us.

“Starting now, America is back at the bargaining table in full force. I will use trade promotion authority aggressively to create more good jobs for American workers, more exports for American farmers and higher living standards for American families.”

Immediately after signing the legislation, Bush left for Texas.

Today, the president is scheduled to travel to Jackson, Miss., to deliver a speech on economic security and then attend a fund-raiser for Rep. Charles W. “Chip” Pickering (R-Miss.).