I was a little nervous, but when he arrived, he walked right over to me and planted a kiss right on my lips and then whispered in my ear about what beautiful chakras I had.

The kiss was nothing special compared to some others I've experienced in life, but this was the President of the United States and that made it special.

I couldn't help wonder what other woman besides his wife he had been with already that morning. Not that I had a right to worry about it, but I did wonder about it.

By then, he was moving on down the line of people, shaking hands and here I was, still wondering how the kiss would be the next time. Hmmm! The next time?

I heard him say that he wanted to go to the local store and buy something to the local store and buy something special for breakfast and that he would return.

Okay! That gave me a chance to get my head together - and think about another opportunity to kiss the President.

He left with his entourage for the store and I ran to my desk to find some paper to write on to write down what I had experienced.

I decided then I would write a book about my experiences with the President.

There was a woman there who looked very much like the comedian Joy Bahar.  I told her my idea about writing the book about President Clinton. Her response was, "Who would want to read a book about that?"

My own inner response to her question was, "Me!"

That was all I needed and I rushed upstairs to find a new yellow legal pad and look on my computer to find my dream journal to see what I had dreamed about him in the past.

About 1/2 an hour later, the President's entourage pulled back into the driveway and we all stood in line to welcome the President once more.

This time when he came up to me, he didn't say anything but slid his arms around me and kissed me long and hard while he left hand slid down my back and rested on my lower spine. This time I was electrified by his touch and his kiss and when he stood up and moved on down the line, all I could think of was kissing him again. I couldn't help thinking about it.

The President said he was going to change clothes and relax before eating breakfst. That was fine with me. That meant he would be staying longer.

So he and his entourage went into another room to do that.

Meanwhile, the TV was on and I saw Monica Lewinski on the screen. She was being interviewed.

I remembered how beautiful she was and now her hair was so thin and scraggly, I could see her scalp, and her lower jaw was all scratched like she had been in a cat fight.

But I didn't have time to worry about her. I was about to have breakfast with the President.

I stood up and was all dizzy and discombobulated. I sat down again to let the blood get to my head, then stood u again and went to the table. Others were talking about not thinking twice about seeing the President a second time but that's 'all I could think about... being close to him again.

We all sat at the table to eat and lucky me ... the President was on my immediate left.

Everyone was busy eating, but I could feel the energy coming from this wonderful presence next to me.

I turned to look at him. He was wearing an all black, soft, velour, jogging suit with a single yellow pinstripe across the chest.

My heart warmed towards him and that softness, and I looked up to his face and he was half asleep.

My heart soared. He looked like a little boy at that moment and I longed to wake him up with gentle kisses and I moved towards him to do just that and woke up to noise in the room as Joe was getting out of bed to go to the bathroom. 

Thanks Joe!  :-)

	Getty Images Bill Clinton

NEW YORK (Sept. 3, 2004) - Former President Bill Clinton will undergo heart bypass surgery after complaining of mild chest pain and shortness of breath, his office said Friday.

Clinton was being admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia, a statement said. He had seen a doctor first on Thursday, and additional tests Friday revealed the need for the surgery, it said.

Clinton canceled a two-day joint trip with his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, across upstate New York.

The senator and the couple's daughter, Chelsea, will be with the former president in New York City, the statement said.

Clinton, 58, had a cancerous growth removed from his back shortly after leaving office in early 2001. It turned out to be basal cell carcinoma, the most treatable form of skin cancer. In 1996, he had had a precancerous lesion removed from his nose and a year before that had a benign cyst taken off his chest.

Other than that, Clinton has had the normal health problems that often accompany aging - periods of slightly elevated cholesterol and hearing loss - and an appetite for junk food. In 1997, he was fitted with hearing aids. He has also suffered from allergies.

In Little Rock, Ark., Clinton's mother-in-law, Dorothy Rodham, said Clinton had called her to tell her about his chest pains.

''He sounded wonderful as usual and very upbeat as he always is,'' she said. ''I just told him how much I love him.''

Resources

· AOL Health: Bypass Surgery · NIH: Surgery Graphics · AOL Search: Bypass Surgery

She said she didn't know if he was in the hospital when he called.

There was no official word on when the surgery would take place. A source said the surgery was not likely to take place Friday, but instead at a later date.

An angiogram given to Clinton revealed ''significant blockage,'' said a Democratic official, who had discussed the condition with the former president's staff. It did not appear that Clinton suffered a heart attack, he said. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity.

The statement by Clinton's office said the former president ''went to Northern Westchester Hospital yesterday afternoon after experiencing mild chest pain and shortness of breath. Initial testing was normal and he spent the night at home in nearby Chappaqua, N.Y. After undergoing additional testing this morning at Westchester Medical Center, doctors advised he should undergo bypass surgery.''

Hillary Clinton is gearing up for a 2006 re-election bid seen by many as a prelude to a run for president in 2008 should John Kerry fail in his bid for the White House this year.

The Clintons had planned a stop at the State Fair in Syracuse on Friday afternoon and then had been expected to head north for stops in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties near the Canadian border on Friday night and on Saturday.

Associated Press writers Ron Fournier and Marc Humbert in Albany, N.Y., contributed to this report.

09/03/04 12:22 ET

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press

Clinton to have bypass surgery

Blockages found in heart arteries

By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff  |  September 4, 2004

Former president Bill Clinton, who has a history of high cholesterol and a legendary affection for fast food, was hospitalized yesterday and is scheduled to undergo coronary bypass surgery at a New York hospital after doctors discovered extensive blockages in his heart arteries, his office said.

Clinton began experiencing mild chest pain and shortness of breath Thursday and visited a hospital near his home in Westchester County, north of New York. Initial tests appeared normal, but when doctors performed a test that involved injecting a dye and taking an X-ray of his heart, they discovered that his arteries were dangerously clogged. Surgery was recommended to prevent him from suffering a heart attack.

The former president entered New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and it remained unclear last night when the operation would be performed, although Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said doctors had advised her husband "to do it as soon as he could."

While considered a major operation, bypass surgery is also among the most routine procedures done at big hospitals, with 305,000 patients enduring bypasses annually, according to federal figures. For a 58-year-old man such as Clinton, the operation carries a mortality rate of less than 1 percent. In fact, physicians who regularly perform the surgery predicted that Clinton could recover quickly enough to campaign for Senator John F. Kerry before the November presidential election, though he would probably miss most of the race.

"When I talk to patients who need this type of surgery, I go up to them and tell them this is a slam dunk operation. For cardiac surgery, it's low risk," said Dr. Richard Nesto, chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington.

Clinton has cut an exuberant figure since leaving the White House nearly four years ago, championing causes as diverse as AIDS in Africa and the election of Democrats to national offices, and writing and promoting his memoirs, "My Life." Just five weeks ago, he delivered a widely heralded address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

"When I last saw him, during the convention, he was as effervescent as ever," said Brandeis University professor Robert Reich, who was Clinton's labor secretary. "I fully expect him to be back to his old self after the operation."

Heart disease is by far the leading cause of illness and death in the United States, with more than 60 million adults and children afflicted with some form of it. And it can often strike without warning, thus earning the moniker "the silent killer."

The test done on Clinton yesterday at Westchester Medical Center revealed "multivessel coronary artery disease, normal heart function, and no heart attack," said Dr. Anthony Pucillo, who performed the procedure.

Even patients who receive top-flight medical attention such as Clinton, who during his eight years as president underwent rigorous medical exams annually, can develop heart problems without knowing it. And though Clinton jogged often as president, he struggled with his weight and reveled in a famously bad diet, including binging on fast food. He and his wife said earlier this year that they were embarking on the South Beach Diet to shed pounds.

"I hope this is a good wake-up call that will enable him to take care of himself," said Janet Reno, Clinton's attorney general.

During his presidency, Clinton had few health problems, although he had a precancerous lesion removed from his nose, and immediately after leaving office, a cancerous growth was excised from his back.

As the iconic face of the baby boom generation, Clinton's biggest enemy of all is the same foe that all members of his generation confront: age. "Just the fact that he's 58, he's up into a category where his risk is in the 20 percent range over the next five years for having a cardiac event," said Dr. Joel Gore, chief of cardiovascular medicine at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

With age, arteries can become clogged because of chronic developments, such as plaque deposits that gradually but relentlessly thicken the arterial walls, or when something sudden happens, such as a piece of plaque shearing off, causing an immediate blockage.

Chest pain and shortness of breath, Clinton's complaints, can be the first sign of a problem, brought on by narrowed arteries that keep the heart from getting enough blood.

"It's not that unusual that relatively young men who have had Mr. Clinton's dietary habits would have extensive coronary artery disease and should need bypass," said Dr. Frank Sellke, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. "I'm not surprised at all." In patients with less severe blockages, doctors often perform angioplasty, during which a catheter is threaded to the blocked spot, a tiny balloon is inflated, and a stainless steel scaffolding called a stent is implanted to get rid of the clot and keep the artery open.

Bypass is reserved for patients who have multiple clogs and whose blockages are especially severe. Its underlying strategy is deceptively simple: Just like a motorist looking for a route around a traffic-snarled highway, surgeons take blood vessels from elsewhere in the body and build bypasses around clogged arteries.

"The major risk of any heart operation is age-related," said Dr. Sary Aranki, director of clinical research in the Division of Cardiac Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "The older you are, the more likely you are to have risks. The major risks are a heart attack or a stroke."

So, in Clinton's case, his relatively young age should work in his favor. Other than suffering a heart attack or stroke during the procedure, significant risks after the surgery include infection and complications related to being placed on the heart-lung machine.

Heart surgeons have reported a phenomenon called "pump head" that appears in patients as they recover and results in cognitive deficiencies that can persist but more often disappear as patients get better.

Typically, recovery from bypass surgery takes six to eight weeks, but a man of Clinton's age and vigor could expect to be back on his feet sooner.

Reaction to the president's hospitalization arrived swiftly yesterday, with President Bush telling a campaign rally in West Allis, Wis., that Clinton "is in our thoughts and prayers. We send him our best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery."

An aide to Kerry slipped him a note about Clinton's heart problems during a neighborhood visit in Newark, Ohio, yesterday, and Kerry later offered his best wishes for the president.

"Every single one of us wants to extend to him our best wishes, our prayers, and our thoughts," Kerry told a crowd of about 5,000 supporters at a rally in Newark's Courthouse Square.

"I want you all to let out a cheer and a clap that he can hear all the way to New York," all the way to New York," he added, drawing loud cheers -- and at least two boos from across the street, where several dozen Bush partisans gathered.

Patrick Healy of the Globe staff and the Associated Press contributed to this report.Stephen Smith can be reached at stsmith@globe.com. 

INTERPRETATION

NEW YORK (Sept. 6) - Former President Bill Clinton was in the operating room Monday for heart bypass surgery, a hospital source told The Associated Press.

Preparations for the surgery began at about 6:45 a.m. at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia in upper Manhattan, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The operation was expected to last until noon or 12:30 p.m. EDT.

The surgical team was being led by Dr. Craig R. Smith, chief of cardiothoracic surgery, the source said.

The hospital source said it was unclear exactly what time the extensive preparations for surgery were ending and the actual operation beginning. Aides to both the former president and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, did not return calls for comment. Jonathan Weil, spokesman for the hospital, said he had no comment.

A separate source close to the former president, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Clinton told him the surgery was scheduled for Monday morning.

Clinton, 58, was hospitalized Friday after suffering chest pains and shortness of breath.

Clinton and his family issued a statement on the Clinton Foundation's Web site on Sunday, saying they felt "blessed and grateful for the thousands of prayers and messages of good will we have received these past few days.'' They also expressed thanks that the medical problem was detected in time.

In bypass surgery, doctors remove a blood vessel from elsewhere in the body and attach it to the heart, detouring blood around blockages. The vessel typically comes from the leg, although doctors sometimes take it from an arm or the stomach.

Doctors say the surgery is a routine procedure and Clinton should recover within a month or two.

In a telephone call Friday evening to CNN's "Larry King Live,'' Clinton said he was "a little scared, but not much.''

"I'm looking forward to it,'' Clinton said of the surgery. "I want to get back. I want to see what it's like to run five miles again.''

Clinton's tests showed no heart attack, but a source close to the family said there were three or four clogged arteries. Several surgeons uninvolved in Clinton's care said they didn't think his doctors would risk treating him with newer, experimental approaches like robotic surgery or laparoscopy, sometimes called keyhole surgery.

"With three-vessel disease in a president, I don't think I'd be doing it,'' said Dr. W. Randolph Chitwood, chief of cardiovascular surgery at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., and a spokesman for the American College of Cardiology.

Because Clinton is only 58 and in good health, "he'll do fine'' with traditional open-heart surgery, Chitwood said.

Although deaths from bypass procedures are rare, Columbia-Presbyterian has the highest death rate for coronary bypass surgeries in New York state - 3.93 percent in 2001, according to a report by the state Health Department. The statewide average is 2.18 percent.

The Clinton family had no comment on that report, The New York Times reported in Monday editions.

Clinton has blamed the blockage in part on genetics but also said he "may have done some damage in those years when I was too careless about what I ate.''

As president, Clinton was an avid jogger but also known for his love of fast food. He has appeared much slimmer since early in the year, when he said he had cut out junk food, gone on the South Beach diet - which limits carbohydrates and fats - and started a workout regimen.

Clinton had a cancerous growth removed from his back shortly after leaving office, and earlier had a precancerous lesion removed from his nose. He has also battled allergies.

But otherwise, Clinton suffered only the problems that often accompany normal aging and a taste for junk food - periods of slightly elevated cholesterol and hearing loss.

Clinton should spend less than a week in the hospital, and may have some mood swings, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping or other problems afterward, but should fully recover in a month or two.

On Saturday night, Clinton had a long telephone conversation with Sen. John Kerry on presidential campaign strategy, said a Democratic official familiar with the talk who spoke on condition of anonymity. Before he fell ill, Clinton had expected to campaign for Kerry.

Associated Press writer Terence Hunt contributed to this report from Washington.

09/06/04 09:35 EDT

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.

NEW YORK - Former President Clinton (news - web sites) underwent successful heart bypass surgery Monday at a Manhattan hospital and was resting comfortably, his spokesman said. The medical team that performed the procedure at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia planned a 4 p.m. EDT press briefing to discuss the surgery.

AFP Slideshow: Bill Clinton

Preparations for the surgery began at about 6:45 a.m., said a hospital source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Clinton spokesman Jim Kennedy confirmed that the surgery was complete and successful just before 1:30 p.m.

Clinton, 58, was hospitalized Friday after suffering chest pains and shortness of breath.

It remained unclear exactly how many arteries were involved. A source close to the Clinton family has said three or four of Clinton's arteries were clogged.

In bypass surgery, doctors remove one or more blood vessels from elsewhere in the body and attach them to arteries serving the heart, detouring blood around blockages. The vessel typically comes from elsewhere in the chest, although doctors sometimes take one from an arm, a leg or the stomach.

Doctors say the surgery is a routine procedure and Clinton should recover within a month or two.

The former president and his family issued a statement on the Clinton Foundation's Web site on Sunday, saying they felt "blessed and grateful for the thousands of prayers and messages of good will we have received these past few days."

"While bypass surgery certainly isn't something to look forward to, we are very lucky that the condition was detected in time to have this procedure before something more serious occurred," the statement said.

The Web site said Clinton had received more than 30,000 get-well messages over the past several days.

The surgical team was led by Dr. Craig R. Smith, the hospital's chief of cardiothoracic surgery.

Clinton has blamed the blockage in part on genetics — there is a history of heart disease in his mother's family — but also said he "may have done some damage in those years when I was too careless about what I ate."

As president, Clinton was an avid jogger also known for his love of fast food. He has appeared much slimmer since early in the year, when he said he had cut out junk food, gone on the South Beach diet — which limits carbohydrates and fats — and started a workout regimen.

Clinton had a cancerous growth removed from his back shortly after leaving office. In 1996, he had a precancerous lesion removed from his nose and a year before that had a benign cyst taken off his chest.

But otherwise, Clinton suffered only the usual problems that often accompany normal aging and a taste for junk food — periods of slightly elevated cholesterol and hearing loss. In 1997, he was fitted with hearing aids, and he also battled allergies.

Clinton should spend less than a week in the hospital, and may have some mood swings, loss of appetite or constipation, difficulty sleeping or other problems afterward, but should fully recover soon.

"For a young, healthy guy like him, I really expect a good recovery," said Dr. Mamdouh Bakhos, chairman of cardiovascular surgery at Loyola University Health System.

The hospital where Clinton underwent the procedure is one of the country's premier hospitals for heart surgery, ranked seventh in the nation this year by U.S. News & World Report.

In 2001, New York Presbyterian's Columbia center, where Clinton is being operated on, had the highest death rate in New York state for heart bypass surgeries, according to a state Health Department report — 3.7 percent, or 3.9 percent when adjusted for various risk factors.

But the hospital's death rate for bypasses has dropped each year since then — to 1.9 percent in 2002, 0.8 percent in 2003 and 0.6 percent in the first half of 2004, hospital spokeswoman Myrna Manners said.

On the Net:

Clinton Foundation: http://www.clintonpresidentialcenter.com/

Bill Clinton spent a sunny Sunday afternoon taking a stroll and relaxing on the patio of his home in Chappaqua, N.Y., where he returned Friday after quadruple bypass surgery last week.

The former president, 58, looking a bit tired but otherwise fine, was spotted sporting a baseball cap and T-shirt with a newspaper and a book tucked under his arm, according to photos.

On Friday, Clinton spokesman Jim Kennedy said in a statement: "The President is in good spirits and has taken short walks in the hospital hallway and in his home today."

Clinton returned home Friday about 6:30 p.m. local time, about half an hour after leaving Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in a sport-utility vehicle. He underwent surgery the previous Monday.

The former president's Web site received more than 85,000 get-well messages, with hundreds more arriving at the hospital.

In a joint message from Clinton, his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea, the former first family said: "Your thoughts and prayers meant so much to us, and helped keep our spirits strong. ... We feel blessed to have such support, and it will continue to sustain us throughout the months of recuperation that remain ahead."

Full recovery is expected to take several months, beyond the Nov. 2 presidential election.

Former President Says He Isn't Taking Risk by Campaigning for Kerry After Heart Surgery

Oct. 25, 2004 — A gaunt former President Clinton does not think he is taking a risk by hitting the campaign trail for Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry so soon after undergoing quadruple heart bypass surgery.

"I want to do this," Clinton told ABC News' Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview that aired today on "Good Morning America."

"Senator Kerry asked me to do it, and I want to do it. And … because it's [the race for the White House] close and because I think it's important. And because the differences between the two candidates and the courses they'll pursue in the next four years are so profound."

Clinton is scheduled to appear with Kerry today at a rallies in the battleground state of Pennsylvania and Florida, hoping to give the Massachusetts senator a boost in the last full week of his campaign before the Nov. 2 presidential election. Clinton has been recovering from his Sept. 6 heart surgery at his home in Chappaqua, N.Y.

'I've Been Really Blessed'

In his first interview since his surgery, Clinton said his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, was not worried that he was returning to political activities too early, but she didn't want him to do too much, either. His chest, he said, is normally "tender" in the mornings but he feels better after he begins moving around. Clinton stressed that he felt well and blessed by his new lease on life.

"I've been really blessed," he said. "I was quite tired when I came home. … I've been really blessed by this whole period of recovery. Hillary's been home a lot. Chelsea's come up to stay with me a lot. And I just sleep and walk, read books, watch baseball. That's what I do."

Doctors said Clinton had nearly 100 percent blockage in some of his arteries when he underwent heart surgery and had narrowly avoided having a major heart attack. In hindsight, Clinton said he realizes he felt the warning signs of a heart attack soon after he left the White House.

"Even when I lost a lot of weight and got in good shape, and I worked out with a trainer, I was in the best shape of my life, apparently" Clinton said. "Still, when I would go out on a run, after a mile, I would have to stop and walk 100 yards to get my breath and then I could run again. I didn't understand it because, literally, for 25 years, I ran 20 to 25 miles a week. I now think it is because the blockage kept me from getting sufficient blood and oxygen to my lungs to keep breathing and running."

Clinton said he realizes that his love for fast food cost him his health. He doesn't miss the occasional Big Mac.

"It is not a big deal," Clinton said. "I'm so grateful that I got another chance to keep going.

Clinton said he was not afraid when he underwent surgery. He did not have any thoughts about places he wished he had seen or things he wished he had done.

"Maybe because the greatest risk had already passed when I didn't have a heart attack because I missed all the signals," Clinton said. "I wasn't frightened. I just was aware that this is a big deal."

No 'Silver Bullet' for Kerry

Both the Bush and Kerry campaigns are relying on star power in the final days. The Bush campaign will have California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stumping for the president in Ohio this week.

Clinton called the race between Kerry and Bush "really one of the most difficult elections to call I've ever seen." He said he believes Kerry can win but that he should not rely on finding a "silver bullet" to assure victory.

He just needs to get out there and try to convey confidence," Clinton said. "And make it clear that he had outlined some very specific plan for the future, not only on the management of the war on terror but on the economy, on the energy and environmental policy, which has received almost no notice in this campaign."

"I think if people believe he's strong, he's convicted, that he can be trusted to handle our security and know that he really does have plans to back up the promises he's making the American people, that he'll probably win," Clinton said. "But it's very close."

Clinton suggested his emergency surgery made him change his priorities. He said some components of politics are not as important to him anymore.

"I don't feel the passion about some of the things — the game — that I used to feel," Clinton said. "But I feel, in a funny way, more passionately about the consequences of the decisions that people in office make that affect people's lives.

The rest of Diane Sawyer's interview with Clinton will air Thursday on "Primetime Live".

Getty Images "I'm going to slow down for the next couple of weeks. But I'm in good shape," Clinton said.

NEW YORK (March 8, 2005) - Six months after undergoing heart bypass surgery, former President Clinton will return to the hospital this week to have a rare buildup of fluid and scar tissue removed from his chest.

''I feel fine,'' Clinton said Tuesday in Washington, adding that he plans to play golf in Florida a day before the operation.

Doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, where Clinton is scheduled to have the procedure on Thursday, said the surgery is low-risk.

During the procedure, known as a decortication, doctors will remove scar tissue that is pressing down on his left lung. The surgery will be done either through a small incision or with a video-assisted thorascope inserted between his ribs.

The former president said doctors discovered the condition during a recent X-ray, and he called the surgery a ''routine sort of deal.''

In an interview with Associated Press Television News, Clinton said he knew before he went with former President George H.W. Bush to tour tsunami-devastated areas last month that he would be having the surgery. Doctors told him he would not be able to fly after the surgery, so he scheduled it after he returned.

Clinton said he will play in a charity golf tournament for tsunami relief Wednesday with the elder Bush.

''I feel fine. I just had a little fluid buildup after my surgery,'' Clinton told APTN. ''It's no big deal.''

Clinton's problem is a rare complication of his surgery, where inflammation of the lining of the heart develops and fluid builds around it or in the lungs, said Dr. Craig Smith, who performed the bypass surgery on Clinton in September. He said it occurs in ''a fraction of 1 percent'' of cases.

Dr. Allan Schwartz, chief of the cardiology at New York-Presbyterian, said Clinton passed a full physical before going to Asia and scored in the 95th percentile for his age in a stress test.

Clinton, 58, had been quite active since his Sept. 6 heart surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian, presiding over the opening of his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., and, more recently, joining the first President Bush for a public relations campaign to help raise private funds for the victims of the Asian tsunami.

Former President Bush said he had trouble keeping up with Clinton in Asia.

''You should have seen him going, town to town, country to country, Energizer Bunny here. He killed me,'' Bush said.

Clinton underwent quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery after suffering chest pains and shortness of breath.

In bypass surgery, doctors remove one or more blood vessels from elsewhere in the body and attach them to arteries serving the heart, detouring blood around blockages. The vessel typically comes from elsewhere in the chest, although doctors sometimes take one from an arm, a leg or the stomach.

Clinton previously blamed his blockage in part on genetics - there is a history of heart disease in his mother's family - but also said he ''may have done some damage in those years when I was too careless about what I ate.''

Clinton said he would return to work as soon as possible following the surgery.

''I'm going to slow down for the next couple of weeks,'' he said. ''But I'm in good shape.''

---

Associated Press White House Correspondent Terence Hunt contributed to this report from Washington.

03/08/05 17:58 EST

NEW YORK (March 11, 2005) - Former President Clinton was in good spirits and looking forward to getting on his feet after surgery to remove scar tissue and fluid from his left lung, his wife said.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, were at the hospital Thursday as doctors cleaned up complications from Clinton's heart bypass operation of six months ago.

Hospital officials predicted "even better than a full recovery'' for the former president following the four-hour operation and predicted Clinton would be walking within 24 hours.

"Chelsea and I have been with him, and he's in good spirits and looking forward to getting up and walking around,'' Hillary Clinton said in a statement.

Clinton was expected to spend three to 10 days in the hospital, said Dr. Herbert Pardes, president of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.

Sen. Clinton said that although this was not considered a life-threatening procedure, "that didn't stop Chelsea and me from worrying together and praying together.''

In a rare complication from his bypass surgery in September, scar tissue had developed because of fluid buildup and inflammation, causing compression and the collapse of the lower lobe of Clinton's left lung.

Surgeons removed a thick rind of scar tissue, in some places up to 8 millimeters (0.3 inches) thick, which made it impossible to use a minimally invasive videoscopy. Instead, surgeons performed more traditional surgery.

"It was like peeling an orange,'' said Dr. Joshua Sonett, one of the surgeons, about removing the tissue.

By the end of the operation, Clinton's lung "was very healthy and looked excellent,'' he said. "We expect even better than a full recovery.''

The operation was done at the same facility where Clinton underwent open-heart surgery. Doctors described it as a low-risk procedure, and Clinton himself called it routine.

Still, such problems crop up in only a faction of 1 percent of bypass cases; doctors said the combination of fluid and scar tissue had decreased Clinton's left lung capacity by 25 percent. The former president first noticed the problem when he suffered shortness of breath during his daily 4-mile walk.

The surgery began about two hours after Clinton arrived in an SUV at the Manhattan hospital on a brisk winter morning. The Secret Service, police and hospital security staff conducted a sweep of the walkways and corridors as Clinton was whisked inside through a side entrance before the operation.

The former president had been in Florida on Wednesday at a charity golf tournament to benefit tsunami victims. He appeared relaxed, cracking jokes about his golf game and saying he wasn't worried about the surgery.

03/11/05 05:40 EST

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press

THE REPO MAN - PRESIDENT CLINTON

THE REPO MAN. PRESIDENT CLINTON. compiled by Dee Finney. updated 8-18-04. JOHN KERRY - DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE - 2004. JOHN EDWARDS ... www.greatdreams.com/political/repo-man.htm -

THE PRESIDENTIAL CABINET - HILARY CLINTON VS CLONING - THE DREAM ...

THE PRESIDENTIAL CABINET. HILARY CLINTON AND CLONING. THE DREAM AND THE REALITY. by Dee Finney. ... I then discovered who the real boss was. It was Hilary Clinton. ... www.greatdreams.com/cabinet.htm -

DEMOCRATIC ELECTION - 2004 - CLINTON NEWS

DEMOCRATIC ELECTION - 2004. CLINTON NEWS. DEMOCRATIC ELECTION - REPO-MAN. JUNE 29, 2003. Clinton makes recommendation for 2004. Former Gen. ... www.greatdreams.com/political/clinton-news.htm -

CLINTON'S REPLACING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

... Fearing Howard Dean is poised to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, Bill and Hillary Clinton are maneuvering to replace the party with a new group ... www.greatdreams.com/political/clinton-repo.htm - DAVID WILCOCK - HIT OR MISS? AN UPDATE ON NEW YORK CITY NUKE ... I was even more surprise when I discovered that Clinton's testimony regarding the incident occurring with Monica Lewinsky would occur on August 17th, the same ... www.greatdreams.com/hitmiss.htm - DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRSIDENT - 2004 - JOHN EDWARDS ... Not even close.". Cheap shots. "Thirteen months ago, Senator Hillary Clinton rose on the ... Hillary Rodham Clinton end up as the Democratic presidential candidate. ... www.greatdreams.com/political/john-edwards.htm - DEE'S DREAMS AND VISIONS - JANUARY, 1999 ... In line one, in each of the spaces, President Clinton was named as marking time, 7 marks in each of the spaces, all very evenly spaced. ... www.greatdreams.com/jan99.htm CORNPLANTER - US NATIVE AMERICAN POLICY ... I was in the hallway with President Clinton and a man who did not look like, but I thought it was Al Gore. ... AND WILLIAM J. CLINTON. ... www.greatdreams.com/cornplanter.htm - THE LADY IN GREY - DEATH IN THE OFFICE!!!! ... if you have a dream about Al Gore, George W. Bush, President Clinton, ex-president, Joseph Lieberman, or Dick Cheney, please send it to Dee777@aol.com... ... www.greatdreams.com/political/lady-grey.htm - HOPES IN BELARUS - A PROPHECY ... All rights reserved. 6-4-00 Clinton, Putin Cite Terrorist Threat. By TOM RAUM. .c The Associated Press. ... `The Russian side disagrees,'' said Clinton. ... www.greatdreams.com/belarus.htm - JACK KEMP ... JOHN NIELSEN: But Kemp's attempts to reform federal urban aid programs did catch the eye of the Clinton administration. President ... www.greatdreams.com/kemp.htm - DREAMS AND VISIONS OF THE POPE ... It began while Rep.Hutchinson was speaking about needing to speak to 3 witnesses about President Clinton and ended while President Clinton was giving a speech ... www.greatdreams.com/popedrms.htm SUMMARY OF RECENT EVENTS! & THANK YOUS! ... And if the truth does come out, will the American people begin to ask themselves why the Clinton Administration was so adamant that Libyans did it? ... www.greatdreams.com/managed_news.htm - SCHOOL SHOOTING - FORT GIBSON, OKLAHOMA ... President Clinton told reporters in Washington that investigators from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were on the scene in Fort Gibson, a ... www.greatdreams.com/gibson.htm - POLITICAL INTRIGUE ... COUNTRY? A PROPHECY? OR JUST A QUESTION? 8-20-2001 - THE PRESIDENTIAL CABINET HILARY CLINTON AND CLONING THE DREAM AND THE REALITY. 7 ... www.greatdreams.com/political_dreams.htm - ANOTHER PEARL HARBOR IN OUR FUTURE? ... law enforcement territory began with drug interdiction along the US border during the Reagan administration, and expanded significantly during the Clinton years ... www.greatdreams.com/land_forces.htm THE NEW WORLD ORDER -WHAT IS IT? ... NSA/GCHQ/CSE and communications surveillance, Bill Clinton - The Dark Side. ... Report From Iron Mountain and the great UFO deception, Bill Clinton Biography. ... www.greatdreams.com/nwo.htm Democrat - Joseph Lieberman - 2003 ... 2003. DEMOCRATIC PARTY - REPO-MAN. His Moment of Truth Joe Lieberman condemned Bill Clinton on national TV, and was anointed his party's moral conscience. ... www.greatdreams.com/political/lieberman.htm - BOMBING OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER - 9-11-2001 - DAY 4 ... General Powell has an aura which among recent leading US figures only Bill Clinton has rivalled. In 1995 the main topic in Washington ... www.greatdreams.com/trade_day4.htm - DREAMS AND VISIONS ABOUT THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE MOUSE ... Bill and Hillary Clinton make a special guest appearance on the CBS Evening News and tell a concerned Dan Rather that they will do everything they can for the ... www.greatdreams.com/grass.htm - THE GLOBAL UNION - (NWO?) ... For example; Bill Clinton attended the 1991 BB meeting in Baden Baden, Germany, so that he could be vetted by the Elite to become the 1992 US president. ... www.greatdreams.com/global-nwo.htm - PEACE ... Kosovo: President Clinton was in violation of the War Powers Act which makes this war indisputably illegal. ... www.greatdreams.com/nobody_wants_peace.htm - THE KING OF TERROR COMES TO SALT LAKE CITY? ... He said police feared fatalities would mount given the extensive damage. President Clinton said federal help would be on the way. ... www.greatdreams.com/terror.htm DREAMS OF AWAKENING ... At this point, President Clinton came in to observe this game as the outcome of this game would influence the fate of the 27 astronauts. ... www.greatdreams.com/awaken.htm - KOSOVO AT A GLANCE ... He gave no details, but said: ``It was very much in the spirit of the telephone conversation held between President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin ... www.greatdreams.com/kosovo.htm 2004 DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION ... A bomb squad also was called to 60 State Street where some of the biggest movers and shakers in the Democratic Party - including President Bill Clinton and his ... www.greatdreams.com/political/ democratic-convention-2004.htm - THE ECONOMY - A PROPHECY - 1999 - 2001 ... Bush took office in January, 2001, he was going around the country talking about the recession that was coming, so that he could blame William J. Clinton for it ... www.greatdreams.com/econ.htm - The Changing of the Guard Part Four: Secrets of Skolnick ... crash. Israel has used their knowledge of these events to blackmail Daddy Bush, his crony Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.]. Another ... www.greatdreams.com/political/media04.html THE DOGS OF WAR - BLOWBACK AND THE MARBLE GAME ... Three years ago, President Clinton Announced a Scheme to Save Colombia From Itself and Get America Off Drugs. Now There's More Cocaine ... www.greatdreams.com/blowback.html THE NEW WORLD ORDER - A GOOD THING? ... Gelb , David Rockefeller-Chairman Emeritus , Henry Kissinger, Warren Christopher, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter, Cyrus Vance, Bill Clinton, George Bush ... www.greatdreams.com/nwo_good.htm - NATIONAL SECURITY - HOLIDAY TERRORISM ... President Clinton's declaration in 1998 that he expected a biological or chemical attack within the next five years has fuelled alarm and provided fertile ... www.greatdreams.com/wacovst.htm - DREAMS OF GEORGIA ... It was white with blue globs in it. President Clinton's voice then said, "He will not finish out his term. He's in his first year.". SEE: ELECTION 2000. ... www.greatdreams.com/georgia.htm - DREAMS AND VISIONS OF WAR ... orchestrated events. The Clinton scandal, the Iraq vs. US ... Furthermore, I'd like to comment on the Iraq and Clinton situation. As you know ... www.greatdreams.com/war.htm - THE BLACKENED WHITEHOUSE ... Tenet, who was nominated by President Clinton, has been CIA director since 1997. When Bush took office in 2000, he chose to retain Tenet. ... www.greatdreams.com/political/blackened-whitehouse.htm - DREAM OF 33 ... skeptical of Kim Jong Il and would not continue to negotiate with North Korea on its missile program until his administration reviewed the Clinton-era policy ... www.greatdreams.com/33drm.htm - NEW PROPHECIES FROM JUST REGULAR PEOPLE ... Here is what I saw: (1)Bill Clinton in some kind of world leader role(not pres.)...the USA seemed to be under some other kind of government and Clinton was ... www.greatdreams.com/regular_prophecy.htm - CABAL OF CABALA - PART I ... Most assuredly another ardent supporter is Bill Clinton, who was a Rhodes scholar, meaning that he was hand-picked, groomed and educated at the expense of The ... www.greatdreams.com/political/cabal.htm - CABAL OF CABALA - PART II ... It helped to spread word about the infamous "Clinton Chronicles" videotapes that linked the president to a host of crimes in Arkansas. ... www.greatdreams.com/political/cabal2.htm - CABAL OF CABALA - PART III ... and listed: "The Honorable Yitzak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel," "His Majesty, King Hussein of Jordan," and "The Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the ... www.greatdreams.com/political/cabal3.htm DEES DREAMS AND VISIONS - OCTOBER, 1992 ... St. Louis?" (I had seen Clinton standing on the top of a truck bed in a parade in another vision which took place in St. Louis. ). ... www.greatdreams.com/oct92.htm THE FRENCH CONNECTION ... [NYT, Aug. 12, 2000]. When Bush Sr. was drubbed by Bill Clinton in 1992, Cheney decided it was high time he became a titan of industry. ... www.greatdreams.com/political/french-connection.htm - BOMBING OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER - 9-11-2001 - DAY 5 ... [3] The financial and other provisions for them and their families were arranged by the Elder Bush, and then quietly continued by Bill Clinton as President ... www.greatdreams.com/trade_day5.htm - WTO (WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION) SEATTLE PROTEST ... Stamper acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the mayhem on Seattle's streets Tuesday nearly caused President Clinton to cancel his trip to the city ... www.greatdreams.com/prep.htm - DREAMS, VISIONS, PROPHECY AND COINCIDENCES ABOUT PRINCESS DIANA ... Even though Bill Clinton has bastard roots in the Rockefeller clan, he is rejected by them and is aligned with the Rothschilds. ... www.greatdreams.com/dianpro.htm CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN THE US? ... Comrade Clinton could not be slicker in making himself Commandant of Gulag America. ... Mr. Clinton does a lot of things on the 13th. ... www.greatdreams.com/concentration.htm - UN Millennium Assembly celebrates arrival of global governance ... plan could crumble. The Clinton/Gore administration, however, is among the strongest advocates for global governance. Congress, as ... www.greatdreams.com/un.htm - Arkansas Online : 1973 / Investigations ... Enfield also rejected a five-page "friend of the court" brief filed by William Jefferson Clinton, a young University of Arkansas law professor. ... www.greatdreams.com/political/ Arkansas-1973-Investigations.htm - REVELATION - THE EIGHTH GATE AND THE BOWLS OF PLAGUE ... In 1998, Clinton administration Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said he was "concerned about the use of Cuba as a base for intelligence activities directed ... www.greatdreams.com/sacred/eighth-gate.htm - THE PUPPETMASTER ... a single premise. Its the "Lets end the Bill and Al show." Referring of course to the Clinton administration. Making Bush nothing ... www.greatdreams.com/puppetmaster.htm - DIRTY POLITICS ... THE BLACKENED WHITEHOUSE.