from -> http://www.thismodernworld.com/

Bush's bulge

No, I don't mean the sock he stuffed in that flight suit, but rather the odd boxy-shape under the back of his suit jacket during the first debate. (Also note the snaky cable-like shape that appears to run up to his neck).

If he had a transmitter of some sort, it would at least explain that strange moment in which he barked out, "Let me finish!"--even though he had time left on the clock and, well, no one had interrupted him. No one we could hear, at any rate.

Salon picks up the story:

Was President Bush literally channeling Karl Rove in his first debate with John Kerry? That's the latest rumor flooding the Internet, unleashed last week in the wake of an image caught by a television camera during the Miami debate. The image shows a large solid object between Bush's shoulder blades as he leans over the lectern and faces moderator Jim Lehrer.

The president is not known to wear a back brace, and it's safe to say he wasn't packing. So was the bulge under his well-tailored jacket a hidden receiver, picking up transmissions from someone offstage feeding the president answers through a hidden earpiece? Did the device explain why the normally ramrod-straight president seemed hunched over during much of the debate?

--snip--

Was it possible the bulge had been Photoshopped onto Bush's back by a lone conspiracy buff? It turns out that all of the video of the debate was recorded and sent out by Fox News, the pool broadcaster for the event. Fox sent feeds from multiple cameras to the other networks, which did their own on-air presentations and editing.

To watch the debate again, I ventured to the Web site of the most sober network I could think of: C-SPAN. And sure enough, at minute 23 on the video of the debate, you can clearly see the bulge between the president's shoulder blades.

--snip--

So what was it? Jacob McKenna, a spyware expert and the owner of the Spy Store, a high-tech surveillance shop in Spokane, Wash., looked at the Bush image on his computer monitor. "There's certainly something on his back, and it appears to be electronic," he said. McKenna said that, given its shape, the bulge could be the inductor portion of a two-way push-to-talk system. McKenna noted that such a system makes use of a tiny microchip-based earplug radio that is pushed way down into the ear canal, where it is virtually invisible. He also said a weak signal could be scrambled and be undetected by another broadcaster.

Mystery-bulge bloggers argue that the president may have begun using such technology earlier in his term. Because Bush is famously prone to malapropisms and reportedly dyslexic, which could make successful use of a teleprompter problematic, they say the president and his handlers may have turned to a technique often used by television reporters on remote stand-ups. A reporter tapes a story and, while on camera, plays it back into an earpiece, repeating lines just after hearing them, managing to sound spontaneous and error free.

Suggestions that Bush may have using this technique stem from a D-day event in France, when a CNN broadcast appeared to pick up -- and broadcast to surprised viewers -- the sound of another voice seemingly reading Bush his lines, after which Bush repeated them. Danny Schechter, who operates the news site MediaChannel.org, and who has been doing some investigating into the wired-Bush rumors himself, said the Bush campaign has been worried of late about others picking up their radio frequencies -- notably during the Republican Convention on the day of Bush's appearance. "They had a frequency specialist stop me and ask about the frequency of my camera," Schechter said. "The Democrats weren't doing that at their convention."

There's more at the isbushwired site.

My guess is, even if he is wired, they'll be hiding it better tonight. Still, it might be fun to see if you think he's listening to voices only he can hear. And--assuming for the moment that this is true--if I were on the Kerry campaign, I'd be working doubletime today to figure out a way to either jam the signal or to break in on it. Imagine Bush trying to stay focused while someone recited old Beat poetry in his ear, or maybe just read names out of the phone book. What could he do? Complain that someone was unfairly interferring with the system he'd set up in order to cheat?

This is, of course, why I am a cartoonist and not a paid political advisor.
posted by Tom Tomorrow

Should we really care? He lost anyway. Let him use a laptop, cliff notes, whatever he needs, he's gonna lose.

It sounds possible, even likely (depending on your bias) but the evidence is far from definitive. What worse is that even if he was cheating he still did not do very well (most polls argee that Kerry won the last debate), which means either he was not cheating or he is even more incompetent then many believe… either that or the guy(s) talking to him need to be executed for extremely illegal stupidity!

by the way I reviewed the debate video:
at 23min you can see the lump and wire... or is it just a trick of the lights?
at 40min you can hear him say softly "let me finish". It could have been because he thought the moderator was giving him cut of signal rather, then a voice in his ear.

You ever tried talking with composure at the same time as listening to something? Pretty tricky, I'd say that considering the Shrub's mental capacity - he could have a brilliant man feeding him lines and I'd assume he'd still sound like an idiot. And, for him to even be able to listen to cues and talk naturally (for him) -- I imagine would have taken MANY hours of practice and coaching from his handlers.

at 40min you can hear him say softly "let me finish". It could have been because he thought the moderator was giving him cut of signal rather, then a voice in his ear.I saw that when I was watching it... but the lights on his podium went red. It reset to green when he said that.... which means he was out of time.

well the light went yellow then several second later he says "let me finish" then several seconds later it goes red. So it must have been a cue from the moderator (or who ever controls the lights)

Scary, just who is pulling the presidents strings.
Probably the same left hander who socked him when he supposedly tripped over his pretzel a few years ago.

Scary, just who is pulling the presidents strings..Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, the Texan Oil & Energy Co.s, the Neo-Cons, his mommy & Bandar "Bush" al-Saud
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/20/politics/main612741.shtml
Probably the same left hander who socked him when he supposedly tripped over his pretzel a few years agoyou mean his wife? you know Laura Bush has killed before.
From:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/laura.asp
In May 2000, a two-page police report pertaining to a fatal accident that had taken place near Midland, Texas, in 1963 was made public. It contained the information that 17-year-old Laura Welch had run a stop sign, causing the death of the sole occupant of the vehicle hers had struck. According to that report, the future First Lady had been driving her Chevrolet sedan on a clear night shortly after 8 p.m. on 6 November 1963 when she entered an intersection without heeding the stop sign and there collided with the Corvair sedan driven by 17-year-old Michael Douglas. Also in the car with Laura Welch was a passenger, 17-year-old Judy Dykes.

And, for him to even be able to listen to cues and talk naturally (for him) -- I imagine would have taken MANY hours of practice and coaching from his handlers.
they want to win REAL BAD, you think Bush wouldn't spend the time? They probably make him study, while the prez would rather be out fishing & chopping wood on his ranch, who ever heard of a prez that takes month-long vacations? Does he really take his job seriously?

It sounds possible, even likely (depending on your bias) but the evidence is far from definitive. What worse is that even if he was cheating he still did not do very well (most polls argee that Kerry won the last debate), which means either he was not cheating or he is even more incompetent then many believe… either that or the guy(s) talking to him need to be executed for extremely illegal stupidity!

LOL this is hilarious.

You're right WCF. The media have stated that he may have cheated and the people will think that even with a receiver giving him the answers, he still did badly. Making him look much more incompetent than many would have given him credit for.

The bulge in question:

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40161000/jpg/_40161014_bulge_203body.jpg
Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3730364.stm)

Hmmmm... Doesn't look like a crinkle in his suit to me. Especially the tell tale sign of what looks suspiciously like a wire running up towards his neck. It could have been his personal microphone, but the wire appears to be running the wrong way. I'm betting Bush won't be using the same tailor for his next debate. Either that or he will probably consider using a smaller receiver.

I bet it was a back brace.
http://www.body-tone.com/pics/Posture-brace.jpg
Don’t ask me why he would wear a woman’s back brace. Perhaps to hold his back straight because he likes to hunch over a lot. Or maybe just to hold in his gut =]

Maybe a bullet-proof backbrace with a transeiver! :)

maybe the other end of a remote control :eek:

This is all a bunch of nonsense. Opion Journal had a nice comment on it:

Saturday's New York Times carried the following "report":

What was that bulge in the back of President Bush's suit jacket at the presidential debate in Miami last week?

According to rumors racing across the Internet this week, the rectangular bulge visible between Mr. Bush's shoulder blades was a radio receiver, getting answers from an offstage counselor into a hidden presidential earpiece. The prime suspect was Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's powerful political adviser.

Earlier, "rumors racing across the Internet" had it that John Kerry brought cheat sheets to the first debate, but the Times, quite properly, did not see fit to report this. (Apparently Kerry was actually removing a pen from his jacket pocket--technically a violation of the debate rules, but a pretty picayune one.) It seems "rumors racing across the Internet" are sufficient basis for a "news" story in the Times--just so long as the rumors are anti-Bush.http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110005743

at any case he is being controlled by alien beams from Jupiter though

"The truth of that matter is, if you listen carefully, Saddam would still be in power if [Kerry] were the president of the United States, and the world would be a lot better off."—St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004. (Thanks to Ed Mielnicki.)

"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself."—Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 29, 2003

So . . . madanthonywayne . . . . because one silly rumor ''racing across the Internet'' is false, it automatically discounts all other ideas that pop up on the internet? Huh? That excerpt of yours does nothing to actually discount the specifics of what was seen and heard at the debate.

Now I certainly wouldn't claim to know whether or not MoronBoy was wired. Just like you also don't know for certain if he was or not. And none of us may ever know.

... or none of us actually care if he was wired or not.

because in the end it doesn't matter
he's dumb as a 9 month old monkey radio controlled or not and ~50% of americans are going to vote for him anyways

Well, since in every international knowledge test there is - Americans now test near the bottom of all industrialized nations . . . not too suprising that 50% of those who vote will vote for him! (and that 80% of American's won't vote AT ALL!).

"since in every international knowledge test there is:, Gravity

Which test?

Now, I suspect your worldview tells you that USA IS #1 AT EVERYTHING - and so will not believe any of the tests anyways. But there are LOTS . . . here are a few.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://mwhodges.home.att.net/mat-sc-literacy.gif

http://mwhodges.home.att.net/physics.gif

http://mwhodges.home.att.net/advance-math.gif

Those are from: International Math & Science Test Results (http://mwhodges.home.att.net/new_96_report.htm#pictures)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Awww hell, just look around on the web -- you'll find *many* different tests, many different methodology's that come up with the same or similar results.

I'm sure if there was a test of movie/sports/tv/music and etc knowledge, the USA would win though - so don't worry! :cool:

Say good bye to that tech industry America..."we'll meet again someday".

If true, it does seem a little odd that the President of the United States couldn't afford to get a receiver that is a little less conspicuous. I mean, if you get found out it pretty much sinks your candidacy.

If people are serious about investigating this, then maybe somebody should sit outside the debate hall with a receiver and look for the signal. It would be hysterical if someone could hijack the signal from short range - you could make Bush say anything. "Cummerbund tightwad significant jollies.", Bush declared in response to a question about long-term interest rates, "and fruitful hemmorhoids evince startling asparagus!" he concluded, striking the podium with his fist.

Oh, I doubt it would sink his presidency -- nothing else has thus far. They just lie and deny, and everybody just believes what they want to believe!

And if he was using such a device, you can be sure it was encrypted - and possibly spread spectrum, making interference/evesdropping nearly impossible. And that also would make for a larger device.

but the signal going from his receiver to his wireless ear piece would most likely be low frequency AM analog, completely venerable to interference and branching.

That would be the most common technological solution, but if there one thing to never underestimate about fascists with totalitarian dreams . . . is their logistical paranoia about such things!

Or vis vera were people could be paranoid enough to suspect such a level of conspiracy.

"Conspiracy"? Karl Rove wanting to keep his little boy under tight reins would not be some huge government ''conspiracy'' - probably just common sense! Note, I'm not at all convinced that the Shrub was wearing a wire, I just certainly see that its possible.

I am rabidly opposed to Bush, but give me a break. I don't think he was wearing a wire, and if he was I like to think he could afford one that didnt actualy have wires running outside his cloths, or large bulky buldges. I really dont agree that it was obvious that he had something on his back, but if he did I would be willing to bet bullet proof vest, being that the secret service does their job well and probably dosn't like having him on a stage in front of a large darkened arena.

Maybe - I don't have enough information to know for sure either way. Neither do you. While the Shrub himself is a moron, many of his handlers are not - and so I'd think they would pull it off more cleanly. But its certainly possible.

Here is something interesting I just found though:

Was he wired? (http://www.linkydinky.com/IsBushWired.shtml)

:bugeye:

Bush will win the presidency again and the GOP will make sure he does, by doing the following in several states: cheating!! (http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2421595&nav=168XRvNe)

more cheating (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/13/32821/029)

Ah!! the irony, the election will be fixed yet again!!.

Godless.

Well, a hard core Repugnican client of mine the other day admitted "the end really does justify the means, no matter what we have to do to maintain and build power for Republicans - its for the best interests of all Americans, whether they realize it or not".

I've suspected that many feel this way, but I was shocked to have one actually admit it out loud! I suggested to her "So . . . this means you don't in fact believe in Democracy anymore?!" - she waffled then about Democracy just needed "to be brought back to sanity", ''returned to control'' and such.

Very, very scary . . . and though I was very polite about it. I think I'll be referring future calls from her to another computer consultant - life is too short to be buying food with such dirty money!

Don't worry Gravity, Americans are a funny lot, they will alow some pushing and shoving around, but will not stand for long, (Remember Oklahoma?) this was inner terrorism, I don't support it, but I doubt Americans will let their democracy go down the tubes!.

Godless.

I hope so, for the sake of my children and everybody elses!

------------------------------------------------------------

"In Germany, they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't
speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and
I didn't speak up because I wasn't in a union. Then they came for the
Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came
for me and by that time no one was left to speak up."
--Pastor Martin Niemoller

See the case for fraudulent canvancers are being investigated as we speak; http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=71805

G.

so, for a moment let's look on the potentially true big picture:

Biggest superpower's on Earth (the USA) president is really a mentally challanged person (who will reject that?) controlled (wired) by some backstage force (secret government, anyone?) and to get the mindless puppet (IQ of 96 I think) into power there are no real and democratic (electronic voting machines belonging to a democrat company) (popular vote doesn't mean shit) elections...

ya know what? this sucks!
and is quite scary

------
Adolf Hitler himself stated in "Mein Kampf": "WHEN A PEOPLE IS BEING DRIVEN TO DESTRUCTION THROUGH THE INSTRUMENT OF GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY, THEN REBELLION IS NOT ONLY THE RIGHT BUT THE DUTY OF THAT PEOPLE."

Wired!!. who speaks for Bush? Dick of course!!.

http://democrats.com/images/bush-debate-12.gif

Godless.

http://www.buzzflash.com/buzzscripts/buzz.dll/sub3
October 13, 2004


A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

The third debate is upon us and the pundit heads are indicating, amidst a
Kerry rise in the polls, that the election is riding on it.

But to many BuzzFlash readers, the most immediate question has been what
rectangular object was riding on Bush's back in the first debate? (There
are photos now showing up indicating the appearance of the object in other
settings, including a Salon article that shows a similar configuration
under Bush's T-shirt while he was talking to a reporter from his ranch
"showmobile," and a more rounded object on his back in the second debate.)

Yes, the mainstream press has jumped to the conclusion that Internet
"conspiratorialists" are behind the notion that the box was a receiver for
a prompting device such as this one [LINK]. Hhhm, so the same mainstream
press that will report any bit of garbage tossed at them by Matt Drudge,
the gay guy who supports gay haters, laughingly dismisses a rectangular
object that is clearly visible on Bush's back during the first debate.

Now, mind you that the White House laughed at the notion that Bush would
need any prompting. A White House spokesman first wouldn't comment on what
has come to be known as "the bulge" for two days after the debate. They
clearly wanted the story to die an Internet death. When Internet
speculation finally broke into the foreign press, the White House denied
that Bush had anything on beneath his suit jacket other than his shirt.
Then they brought his French tailor out (ain't that ironic) to declare the
rectangular object was just -- get this -- a pucker. There were chuckles
all around the press corps, just your average $2000 suit bunching in the
back! What a laugh!

What a laugh indeed. It took a British paper and then the New York Daily
News to point out that the likelihood of an expensive suit "puckering"
into a rectangular box shape in the middle of the wearer's back while
being stretched out was about zero. In fact, the chances of a rectangular
"pucker" in the middle of the wearer's back was about zero to none, in any
case but there being a rectangular object underneath the jacket.

Of course, the extremely odd explanation of the White House tailor was
enough for the mainstream press. Whatever the White House says is the
truth, after all, if you define the truth as being a lie. I mean, here we
have a photograph that clearly shows a rectangular object in the middle of
Bush's back, during a debate when the Bush people had prohibited shots of
the backs of candidates (which the networks fortunately violated), and the
mainstream press says to us, in essence, you are a "conspiratorialist" if
you think what you actually see actually exists.

Yeah, that's some press corps. You believe in wild things if you trust
your own eyes.

Well, here's a challenge to the press corps. Since there is indisputably a
rectangular object of significant size on Bush's back during the first
debate, and since Salon magazine showed another shot of its appearance,
wouldn't the role of a journalist be to ask the White House, "Well, if
it's not a receiver that is sending prompts to Bush, then what the heck is
it?"

No, that would be impolite, wouldn't it? That might get one banished to a
back seat in the small White House press briefing room.

Let's just wonder if the slime (Drudge) report posted a photo of Kerry
with such an object on his back, would the press laugh it off as a
sartorial pucker? No, they would keep it alive for days, incited on by
"the sludge report," Rush Limbaugh and FOX News. They wouldn't stop with
pucker talk. That's for sure. It would be a full-blown scandal.

By the time the mainstream media got finished with a device prominently
placed on Kerry's back during a debate, most of the country would be
convinced that Teddy Kennedy was feeding him debate points.

But George W. Bush has a device on his back, very much shaped like a
receiver, and the mainstream press isn't even curious as to what it might
be.

That's the mainstream double standard for the press. If Bush wants to play
Quasimodo for the night, that's cool, no questions asked. But if Kerry
shows up with a hunchback, it's Jane Fonda who is whispering sweet little
soundbites into his ear courtesy of Ho Chi Minh. Just tell us we're wrong.

At the least, you would think the well-fed and wined White House press
corps might be curious as to what that box like thingy was. Wouldn't you?

If it's not a receiver, then what was it?

Oh, don't ask a reporter to ask such questions of Furious George.

The White House never lies, right?

So, even if every other tailor who has been quoted says that it couldn't
be a pucker and it was some sort of object, there's a martini or margarita
waiting at some bar for the political reporters who cover Bush.

And time's a wastin'.

Besides, too much knowledge can ruin a comfy career and salary in D.C.

You never want to step over the line and actually find out the truth
behind the true lies.

Is that Karl Rove's echo we hear?

Oh, never mind. Maybe this debate, Bush will just use cue cards.

-- No he won't . . . he can't read well enough!

"since in every international knowledge test there is:, Gravity

Which test?
probably from the "Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)"

From:
http://4brevard.com/choice/international-test-scores.htm
International Test Scores
Poor U.S. Test Results
Tied To Weak Curriculum

Most of the following was excerpted from a speech by Pascal D. Forgione, Jr., Ph.D. U.S. Commissioner of Education Statistics. As a government researcher, he tries to put the best possible spin on the academic failure of American schools, but this is no sugar-coated report.


From:
http://www.exodusmandate.org/art_dobson_and_now_a_word_about_our_children.htm
What it revealed is that fourth-grade students in this country scored above average internationally, but by the middle school years, scores were below average. And by the time they were seniors in high school, they ranked near the bottom when compared to other nations. 3 The conclusion is unmistakable: The longer students stay in American schools, the farther they fall behind their age-mates in most industrialized nations of the world.

Watching the third debate last night, I think it was even more obvious that he was being prompted. His speech pattern was choppy at best. There were dozens of pauses where there should be no pause. (generally, right in the middle of a sentence that should just flow). There were no "uhms" or "uhs" like when Kerry paused. Just a continuation of the same sentence with the improper inflection in his voice. He also ended several sentences as if there were more, instead of trailing off into a conclusive tone like Kerry.

The sad thing is, it's so painfully obvious now that we know what to look for and the media doesn't look like they're going to pick it up...

Watching the third debate last night, I think it was even more obvious that he was being prompted.what? Bush a cheater? never!!! but I wonder how a "C" avaerage student got in & graduated from Yale? Hmmm..., I wonder if I could get into Yale? I'm a "B" avarage student.:D

The sad thing is, it's so painfully obvious now that we know what to look for and the media doesn't look like they're going to pick it up...that's because, just like Reagan, this guy's a likable fellow, charming, joking, etc... If it had been Clinton & his mistresses, look out, they went out for blood, even that paragon of journalists,
Helen Thomas had to ask personal questions.

But Bush gets away with staged campaign stops, where all the waving people have to take a loyalty oath, get fired from their jobs if they dare as "real" questions.

where is the 5th estate? they can't say there is no story, they are 'selective', biased, maybe bought?

Well, I'm heading to a Bush rally right now (he's in town in about in hour) so we'll see how that loyalty oath thing goes.

Well, I'm heading to a Bush rally right now (he's in town in about in hour) so we'll see how that loyalty oath thing goes.
dare you to ask a hard question, I hope you're self-employed? how did you get invited? what town do you live in?

Well, I'm heading to a Bush rally right now (he's in town in about in hour) so we'll see how that loyalty oath thing goes.
sure, check this out after you get back:

Bush & Kerry:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,134477,00.html
Bush, Kerry Face Town-Hall Style Debate
Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Despite almost daily campaign events styled as "town hall" sessions with voters, such as the candidates held Monday, neither the Republican incumbent nor the Democratic challenger ...
The crowds almost always range from friendly to adoring. Bush events are ticket-only, and the tickets are usually passed out by the Bush campaign or other supporters. Kerry sometimes uses tickets, sometimes not


Bush:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60913FD3C5C0C7B8EDDA00894DC4044 82

NATIONAL DESK | September 28, 2004, Tuesday

THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: STRATEGY; Supporters Get Incentive Plans At Bush Rallies

By DAVID M. HALBFINGER (NYT) 1357 words
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 1 , Column 1

- Want to see the president when he comes to your town? Get in line -- to make phone calls for his ... President Bush's campaign aides say they have hit on a novel way to recruit volunteers for his get-out-the-vote army. Anyone wanting to attend one of Mr. Bush's campaign...



Cheney:
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/07/30/news/wyoming/63b4fcb928fe8e6987256ee10054e715.txt

Some Democrats seeking Cheney tickets had to sign oath
By RICHARD BENKE
Associated Press Writer
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) -- Some Democrats who signed up to hear Vice President Dick Cheney speak here Saturday were refused tickets unless they signed a pledge to endorse President Bush.

A little re-cap from the prez's visit.

It was really no problem getting tickets. I simply told them when asked that "yes, i support the president and am a registered Libertarian."

The best way to describe it is something like this:
http://colley.co.uk/garethjones/german_articles/frankfurt_rally_feb_1933b.jpg

seriously, replace the nazi flags with amerikan ones, the german signs with one that says "victory in the silver state", move it outdoors, and you have the same exact crowd.

They chanted "four more years" no less than 10 times.

People were running when his convoy (of 18 cars) was pulling up to go get a glimpse and then ran back to their seats.

Many audience members were waving flags at the police helicopter that was pointing a gun in their general area.

The speech was quite rhetorical. The secretary of State for Nevada made a joke about eating waffles for breakfast and "Mrs Heinz or Mrs Butterworth?" Ol' bushy repeated several of his lines from the debate last night including the one about his wife being the best speaker in the family. At one point he said he wants helath care for every american - but im sure you won't find that on the evening news.

There was really no chance at all to cause any ruckus as it was packed full of bush worshipers and i was at the back. I gave him the bird and walked off and tried to get the people coming out to sign a petition to legalize pot.

Overall, it was quite the un-eventful event. It did what they wanted to accomplish - energize the right in time for the election whereas reno is one of the most disputed markets in the country.

I suspect Bush was still wired, but with fewer and briefer audioprompter-commitee interruptions during his final unedited and unscripted trial before the public. He obviously can't reliably take the heat on his own for very long.

Watching the third debate last night, I think it was even more obvious that he was being prompted. His speech pattern was choppy at best

There was one point, and I haven't gone back through the footage to find it, when Kerry was speaking and Bush was looking down at the podium. His eyes went first to his left, then his right, as if reading something. If you watch people closely, this is something they do when listening closely. I noticed this particular moment in part because he seemed in deep concentration and, when he looked up it was with a posture that suggested he caught himself devoting more effort to the voice in his ear than he wanted to. It was a guilty start of sorts.

I've tried to play down the question of whether or not he's wired, but there is also that picture of him wearing the thing under a t-shirt while driving a pickup truck on his ranch.

You'd think they could at least make the excuse that it's his secret-service wire because he operates during this War on Terror under certain additional security protocols at all times. Or something similar. I would be surprised, should this turn out to be what it looks more and more to be, if Karl Rove didn't think of that point in advance. (It would suggest, at least, that he's getting sloppy, should he have missed it.)

I can't beleive you people think he wired! come on he did not do to good in the debates, you would think that with that system he could kick ass, I refuse to believe he is that stupid, I mean he's dumb but thats way to far!

anyways the debates are over so it does not matter now.

I can't beleive you people think he wired! come on he did not do to good in the debates, you would think that with that system he could kick ass, I refuse to believe he is that stupid, I mean he's dumb but thats way to far!

I'm more open to any explanation than the GOP is willing to give in refusing to acknowledge the issue. And that's a fair thing for them to do; it's a calculated risk against the potency of conspiracy whisperings. Really, the X-Files have done more to fuel big-government conspiracy mutterings than any GOP politicking.

However, no, even if Bush was wired, I don't think he could kick ass. Wiring him, such as the whisperings would have it, would mostly be damage control.

Of course, there was that incident in Europe, which would undermine the damage-control assertion.

The thing is that the Bush/Cheney message can only go so far. With boats and cars, there comes a point where you have to devote an inordinate amount of fuel to increasing the speed any more than you already have. How much horsepower to get another five knots? Similarly, the task for selling the Bush package actually demands a golden tongue on par with Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton. As the people showed--and they surprised me by calling the veep debate an Edwards win--the GOP sales pitch this year only goes so far. So even if Bush was wired, I don't think he'd kick ass:
Damage Control: The point here would be to not notice any return on the investment. The whole point of whispering cues in his ear--"Stop. Defense record. War on Terror. Iraq. Defense record."--would be to play a convincing marionette; certainly his nose won't grow, but it would be exceptionally dangerous to Bush's election day should the strings be noticed.

Dictation: This is a really bad idea from the outset; at best, it would ... um ... no. Even if it went perfectly, the veep debate shows that the message has limits. As one political correspondent (NBC's Mitchell, I think; I'm too lazy to look up the quote) put it after the first debate, this may be the first time staying on message has cost a candidate in the debate. Going to all that trouble to dictate in George's ear when the expected return is so little and the dangers of, well, take a look at the present buzz about it--the dangers of getting nailed on it are, in and of themselves, enough to make the idea of dictating the responses in Bush's ear ... problematic at best.

In the end, the gamble of wiring Bush would be a greater testament to the poor judgment of the Bush slate than it would be an embarrassment to get caught. So much can go wrong, and if the creeping hysteria of the inevitable could push the Bush camp to such dangerous measures, well, there goes what's left of people's faith in the President.

And that huge danger stems from the anemia of the Bush message: "Trust in me, close your eyes ...."

Personally, I think Bush is a buggy prototype cyborg, and the bulge is his battery pack. I hear Poppy was disappointed that they couldn't use a gas-powered 2-stroke. Nuclear energy! Bah! And how right he'd be: Bush's power pack is the one thing we've gotten from Bob Lazar's "sport model".

I mean, why else is Kim Jung Il itching for a fight with Bush and frightened by Howard Dean (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4079086/)? (I couldn't resist the Dean bit, but the NK bit works without it.) Because he knows how to kill cyborgs. He's seen every "Terminator" flick, and had a latex bust made so he could go sleeveless and fight cyborgs like Linda Hamilton (http://www.lhow.com//posters/t2_12a.jpg). (Really, I wanted the shotgun picture, but I couldn't find it easily enough to suit my patience.)

You know, Dean ... he's human, and unpredictable. That scares Kim Jung Il. But Bush ... man, if Kim could bag a cyborg, well, then everybody would think he was cool, tellyawhat!

If Bush is a cyborg, it would be a pretty bad comment on our technological prowess! :)

Yeah, but it would show that Japanese dancer something or another.

I suspect Bush was still wired, but with fewer and briefer audioprompter-commitee interruptions during his final unedited and unscripted trial before the public. He obviously can't reliably take the heat on his own for very long.

Actually, I meant to mention something about this.

His speaking format was completely different. It makes me think he was wired during the debates even more. Like I said, he used verbatim sentences that he had already used and he genera.lly seemed much more relaxed than on the debates.