WASHINGTON - Former US president Bill Clinton downplayed concerns about his health on Tuesday as he faced fresh surgery, saying he was ready to play 18 holes of golf a day later to benefit Asia's tsunami victims.
"I feel fine," said Clinton, who was to undergo surgery Thursday to remove fluid and scar tissue from his left chest cavity six months after quadruple bypass surgery. "It's no big deal."
"It'll knock me out of commission for a week or two," Clinton said at the White House during a joint appearance with former president George Bush. "(As) soon as I get it done, I'm going to go back to work."
Bush agreed, joking that during their just-completed visit to countries devastasted by the December 26 tidal wave, Clinton was like the "Energizer bunny" -- a reference to the untiring mascot in a battery commercial.
"You should have seen him going, town to town, country to country. The Energizer bunny, nearly killed me," he quipped.
Bush and Clinton said they would join 70 other players on Wednesday for a charity golf game organized by golf star Greg Norman.
"Goes to show how sick he is," President George W. Bush joked as he welcomed the former presidents to the Oval Office to talk about US efforts that have netted one billion dollars in private donations for the victims.
"There goes my excuse," rejoined Clinton.
03/08/2005 19:37 GMT