WASHINGTON – Just in time for a monthlong retreat to his Crawford, Texas, ranch, doctors declared President Bush in great physical shape after his annual medical exam.
Bush was all smiles after emerging from the examination Tuesday, giving a thumbs up and saying he was "feeling good."
Bush delivered the upbeat assessment as he emerged from his Marine One helicopter upon arrival back at the White House.
"Unbelievable" was Dr. Kenneth Cooper's assessment of the president's health. Cooper, one of the doctors who provided the checkup, escorted Bush back to the White House from the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
More details were expected later.
Bush left Tuesday for Texas, where he will be using his Crawford ranch as his headquarters until around Labor Day. His plans include meetings and fund-raising trips during his stay at his 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch and a visit there by Mexican President Vicente Fox on Aug. 26.
The president arrived at Bethesda Medical Center around 8 a.m. for the physical. When asked how he felt heading into the exam, Bush said, "Tip top."
In fact, the president is somewhat of a physical fitness fanatic so doctors were prepared for a positive assessment.
His first regular checkup since last August, one concern facing the president was a repeat of a few non-cancerous skin lesions that were removed from his face during the last exam. The procedure was done again last December.
The president also experienced a minor problem with a pretzel in January. It went down the wrong way and he fainted and fell, scratching his face. Doctors attributed the fainting spell to a slower than average heart rate because of his great physical shape.
In June, Bush had a colonoscopy as a follow-up to a previous diagnosis for benign polyps. At the time, he turned over power for two hours to Vice President Cheney while he was sedated for the exam. It showed no polyps or other abnormalities.
Bush's roughly three-hour exam followed a morning press conference where he announced he was convening a conference on missing and exploited children and the Justice Department was distributing a parents' guide to help identify ways to reduce the likelihood of their children's abduction.
It also preceded the president's signing of trade promotion authority bill that Congress passed as its last act before departing for the August recess.
The bill allows the president to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with other nations that the Congress can either approve or reject, but can not amend. The latitude given to the president is essential in helping grow the economy by protecting industries and promoting exports of abundant U.S. products.
The power -- also called fast track authority -- has been refused by Congress since 1994, when Democrats feared the impact it would have on labor and environmental groups.
The legislation also includes a 10-year, $12 billion plan to help workers who lose their jobs because of trade and renews a program of low tariffs with Colombia and three other Andean nations designed to help their economies and make them less reliant on illegal drugs.
Fox News' Steve Centanni contributed to this report.
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