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Posted on 06/28/2002 7:17:04 PM PDT by bonesmccoy
By RON FOURNIER, AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush ( news - web sites) said he will briefly transfer the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney ( news - web sites) on Saturday while under sedation for a colon screening.
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Bush, who turns 56 next week, said doctors recommended the procedure — a colonoscopy — because benign polyps were found in two previous checks. It is considered a standard preventive procedure for men his age.
The president said there were "no signs, no symptoms" of trouble and he expected to exercise in the afternoon after the check. The procedure will be conducted at the Camp David presidential retreat.
"I feel great," Bush said before leaving the White House for the weekend. "This is part of the annual physical so I just decided to do it at this time. It fit in with my schedule."
Bush said he decided to transfer powers to Cheney out of extra caution because the nation is at war. Cheney will be "standing by. He realizes he's not going to be president that long," Bush said.
White House physician Dr. Richard Tubb said Bush underwent the same procedure in July 1998 and December 1999; both times two polyps were found.
The procedure usually takes 30 to 45 minutes, Tubb said.
"This is preventive medicine at its finest," the doctor said. "If you're over 50 you ought to make it part of your practice as well."
The doctor briefed reporters shortly after Bush made his plans public before boarding Marine One for Camp David. Aides said he decided to undergo the procedure two or three weeks ago.
Gonzales said Section 3 of the 25th Amendment — enacted in 1967, four years after President Kennedy's assassination — will be invoked by Bush in a letter faxed to congressional leaders and signed by the president.
A second letter, also signed by Bush, will formally transfer powers back, he said.
The only other time Section 3 was invoked was July 13, 1985, when President Reagan underwent surgery for colon cancer.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer ( news - web sites) said the administration will announce that the powers of the presidency were transferred only after Bush recovers and takes back control
Tubb said a sedative called propofol will be administered to Bush through an intravenous line. It takes effect in a minute or less and wears off quickly.
"You can turn the medicine off and the patient wakes right up," he said.
Tubb will join a military medical team lead by endoscopist Dr. James Butler, a Navy captain and chief of gastroenterology at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md.
The level of sedation — including whether Bush is fully unconscious — will be decided depending on the president's comfort level, the doctor said.
Bush said the test is routine but the times are not, the reason he will be transferring power.
"I'm the first president to have done so under this type of procedure and/or physical examination. I did so because we're at war," Bush said.
Before taking the test, Bush will be given a solution to drink to cleanse his system.
A colonoscopy is considered the best way to examine the colon and to find and remove polyps. The procedure, performed regularly, is thought to reduce the risk of colon cancer by up to 90 percent. More than 2 million are performed annually in the United States.
The procedure uses a flexible tube containing an optical scope that enables the doctor to view the entire length of the colon. A wire cutter can be threaded through the tube and used to remove any polyps discovered.
Generally, physicians recommend that people after the age of 50 receive a colonoscopy every three to five years, depending on the patient's personal and family history of colon cancer. For some patients, the procedure is done annually.
Bush made the announcement in good spirits, joking with reporters about the procedure and the short time that Cheney will be president.
After his brief remarks, Bush walked hand-in-hand with first lady Laura Bush ( news, bio, voting record) onto his helicopter for Camp David and gave a quick wave to a South Lawn crowd gathered to see him off.
As news of the transfer broke, Cheney was giving a speech in Charlotte, N.C., to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in which he outlined Bush's domestic agenda and the war on terrorism. It was part of a full day of Cheney fund raising for GOP candidates in the state, including Senate candidate Elizabeth Dole ( news - web sites).
Cheney will be in Washington this weekend.
(BONES is a doctor!)
I'm just thinking on one hand...gee...the media is sure stupid to need to spout off about this procedure... must be pretty slow today!
The other thought was that it must really be lousy to not be able to even get a colonoscopy without some major media outfit violating medical confidentiality.
The third thought was that the VP better be seen and alert tomorrow morning. We don't need Tom Daschle (third in line) running us even for 10 minutes!
Tom Daschle will NEVER assume the Presidency. Next in line is Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House.
Next in line after the Vice-President is the Speaker of the House (Dennis Hastert, currently).
Thanks to the Senate Democrats, we have a person next in line who wouldn't pass a standard physical exam for driving a car!
Darn, wonder what happened to the Rear Admiral?
I've seen colonoscopies performed without sedation and I would describe them as very uncomfortable (medical euphemism for "it hurts like a SOB"). Give GWB all the sedation he can handle I say. Sigmoidoscopies, on the other hand, use a shorter scope and generally are performed without sedation. That's it for today's Fun Facts on Colonic Procedures.
It's the gentleman from Illinois... MR. Hastert! Thank God! (uh oh ... now, I'm unconstitutional!)
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