Faithless
10-11-2004, 11:47 PM
I fucked up the title. It should read "Bush's bulge".
Claims Bush had help in debate (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/11/1097406493527.html?oneclick=true)
US President George Bush's campaign team have played down reports that the president was fitted with a transmitter to allow him to receive help during a televised debate.
During the public discussion with presidential opponent Senator John Kerry, an apparent bulge could be seen in the middle of Mr Bush's back under his suit jacket.
A number of internet sites have claimed that the president was wearing a device that allowed an adviser to feed him answers to questions during the debate last week.
It was also alleged that on several occasions Bush stopped speaking for a period and stared ahead as if listening to a voice.
Other reports suggested the president could have been wearing a bullet-proof vest.
Dave Lindorff, a reporter with the news and current affairs website Salon.com, was one of the first to suggest the apparent bulge could be a device.
He wrote: "There's definitely something under there pushing up through the suit."
He added that the device would not necessarily have been electronic, since there are magnetic and fibre-optic technologies that can achieve the same effect.
"These gadgets have been around for quite a while," he said. "They just keep getting better and better."
The White House refused to provide an on-the-record comment, saying that it would dignify a baseless issue, and referred questions to the Bush-Cheney campaign.
Bush's campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt told the Washington Post the claims were "preposterous", but declined to elaborate or to suggest what could have produced the unusual photo.
The president's tailor, Georges de Paris, who made the suit, said the bulge was nothing more than a fold along the jacket's back seam, accentuated when the president crossed his arms and leaned forward on the lectern.
Claims Bush had help in debate (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/11/1097406493527.html?oneclick=true)
US President George Bush's campaign team have played down reports that the president was fitted with a transmitter to allow him to receive help during a televised debate.
During the public discussion with presidential opponent Senator John Kerry, an apparent bulge could be seen in the middle of Mr Bush's back under his suit jacket.
A number of internet sites have claimed that the president was wearing a device that allowed an adviser to feed him answers to questions during the debate last week.
It was also alleged that on several occasions Bush stopped speaking for a period and stared ahead as if listening to a voice.
Other reports suggested the president could have been wearing a bullet-proof vest.
Dave Lindorff, a reporter with the news and current affairs website Salon.com, was one of the first to suggest the apparent bulge could be a device.
He wrote: "There's definitely something under there pushing up through the suit."
He added that the device would not necessarily have been electronic, since there are magnetic and fibre-optic technologies that can achieve the same effect.
"These gadgets have been around for quite a while," he said. "They just keep getting better and better."
The White House refused to provide an on-the-record comment, saying that it would dignify a baseless issue, and referred questions to the Bush-Cheney campaign.
Bush's campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt told the Washington Post the claims were "preposterous", but declined to elaborate or to suggest what could have produced the unusual photo.
The president's tailor, Georges de Paris, who made the suit, said the bulge was nothing more than a fold along the jacket's back seam, accentuated when the president crossed his arms and leaned forward on the lectern.