Be careful, Democrats: President George Bush is a Prez who’s incredibly physically fit (and can probably beat up most of you — except perhaps Hillary):
President Bush was pronounced “fit for duty” after an annual checkup Saturday showed that the 59-year-old commander in chief, an avid mountain bike rider, had lost 8 pounds since his last physical exam in December….
In December, Bush weighed 199.6 pounds, 6 pounds more than in the summer of 2003. He attributed the weight gain to too many doughnuts during his reelection campaign.
On Saturday, the scale showed the nearly 6-foot Bush at 191.6 pounds.
A four-page medical summary issued by the White House said Bush remained in the “superior” fitness category for a man of his age.
A separate statement signed by nine doctors who conducted the physical said there was “every reasonable expectation that he will remain fit for duty for the duration of his presidency.”
The AP also includes a story that has more info than you want to know, such as:
Height: 5 feet, 11 3/4 inches. Weight: 191.6 pounds.
Blood pressure: resting, seated 110/64 (below 120/80 is healthy).
Pulse: resting, seated 47 beats per minute (60-100 bpm is normal for adults; 40-60 bpm is normal for a well-trained athlete).
Body fat: 15.79 percent.
(They don’t include head fat.)
Cholesterol: High-density lipoprotein 56 (goal is above 40); low-density lipoprotein 100 (optimal is below 100); total cholesterol 178 (below 200 is desirable).
Reuters adds these tidbits:
Mountain biking has become Bush’s favorite sport after knee problems forced him to give up jogging a couple of years ago.
But he has taken a few well-publicized spills, including one on his July 6 birthday, when he collided with a police officer while cycling in Gleneagles, Scotland.
In addition to cycling, Bush does elliptical training, low-impact treadmill, weight training and stretching. He exercises six times a week.
Bush’s body fat of 15.8 percent was below last year’s 18.25 percent and lower than the normal range of 16.5 percent to 20.5 percent for a man his age.
His cholesterol level of 178 was within the “desirable” range of less than 200.
Bush no longer drinks alcohol but has an occasional cigar and has caffeine in coffee and diet soda.
We are sure the same detailed medical information will be given to the press about Vice President Dick Cheney….
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.