"The Bulge" Controversy Continues

[Nbadan]

Internet conspiracy theorists and some Democrats have insisted that the bulge was the outline of a radio receiver that got debate answers from an offstage adviser and transmitted them into a hidden presidential earpiece. But Andrew H. Card Jr., the White House chief of staff, dismissed the bulge as nothing more than "a poorly tailored suit."

< snip >

Ken Mehlman, the Bush campaign manager, went even further and said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that "the gentleman responsible for the tailoring of that suit is no longer working for his administration."

In fact, Mr. de Paris is still making suits for Mr. Bush, and he was not at all happy to have four decades of work - he has been the tailor to every president since Lyndon B. Johnson - called into question.

< snip >

Mr. de Paris, 70, had been visited a few weeks earlier by The Hill, a weekly newspaper that covers Congress, and had told the reporter seeking to solve the bulge mystery that the protuberance was nothing more than a natural pucker that occurs when a man's jacket is pulled taut against his back. The Internet quickly deemed Mr. de Paris's assertion nonsense, and by last Thursday, so had The Hill. Citing sources in the Secret Service, The Hill reported that the bulge was the outline of a bulletproof vest.

Wait, I though Andrew Card, a guy who should know, said W wasn't wearing a vest during the debates. These photos from Salon may tell the real story..

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/29/bulge/story.jpg


Dr. Robert M. Nelson, however, was not laughing. He knew the president was not telling the truth. And Nelson is neither conspiracy theorist nor midnight blogger. He's a senior research scientist for NASA and for Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and an international authority on image analysis.

Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/29/bulge/index_np.html)

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Geez, make it end.

[Drachen]

I really dont think I have an opinion on this, the candidates already know what will be asked. They, for the most part, know what the other will say, and how to respond. If that is a radio transmitter, all this proves to me is that Jr. couldnt memorize everything.

[timvp]

Um ... W pretty much got destroyed in the debates. Even if there was a radio or whatever in there, it didn't work.

[Useruser666]

Anyone who actually believes that Bush was using a headset that required a t-box (or any strap on reciever) and a bunch of wires is a moron. You can easily buy single piece ear phones that fit entirely inside the ear canal and have no external wires or recievers. Come on people, I can get a headset for my cell phone that is blue tooth wireless. This is the president you know, don't you think he would have the latest and greatest stuff?

[Clandestino]

yeah, no shit, why would bush be using some outdated HUGE piece of equipment? that is the most ridiculous thing i've heard... and GUESS WHAT???

even if he did use it, HE STILL WON THE ELECTION!!! who gives a fuck about this old shit anymore... get over it, no matter what, BUSH WON! kerry can go back to not showing up for senate matters

[Hook Dem]

Dan.....WE GET IT!!!! You don't like Bush. Enough already!

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I just think it's dumb to still be whining about this.

It's general knowledge that Bush wears kevlar body armor under his suit for public appearances, it's standard Secret Service SOP.

[samikeyp]

I thought this was a Michael Moore/spandex thread.

seriously though...can't you all hear Dan now..."back, and to the left...back, and to the left..." although I guess in his case its "back to the left"

[Yonivore]

Hey, Nbadanallah, why don't you join that guy from Atlanta at ground zero?

God, you're a stupid fuck.

[Spurminator]

Controversy Continues

News to me.

Next.

[dcole50]

Um ... W pretty much got destroyed in the debates. Even if there was a radio or whatever in there, it didn't work.
One of the guests on the now cancelled show "Tough Crowd" said that if there was someone on the other end, they must have been retarded.

I thought it was funny ...

I hate these conspiracy theories. This one truly is one of the worst since Bush didn't fair too well in that debate to begin with.

[CrazyOne]

A source that prefers to remain unnamed is wondering why Dan is so preoccupied with the President's bulge... I'm still not sure what that means. :spin

[nadabN]

I have a bulge in my pants but my reverse namesake only has a sock.

[Sec24Row7]

3 words.

Bullet Proof Vest.

[Yonivore]

What I find amusing about the original post in this thread is that the "analysis" goes through three iterations of a photograph to "enhance" characteristics that are just as clearly defined in the first picture. And, none of them can say what is the feature, under the President's jacket.

Pretty stupid waste of time, if you ask me. Nbadanallah's speed, I imagine.

I was particularly impressed by the statement, in green, "This analysis can be performed by..."

He could have ended that with, "...anyone with eyeballs that function reasonably well."

[Yonivore]

"Wait, I though Andrew Card, a guy who should know,..."
...better than to seriously discuss Presidential security measures.

[Drachen]

3 words.

Bullet Proof Vest.


I dont know if I can agree with you because if it is a BPV then he is only afraid of getting shot between the shoulderblades, and a really thin line down the middle of his back. I still believe its a radio, but as I stated above, this is moot to me, due to the reasons expressed above.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Bush wears a bullet proof vest that covers his entire torso region, with added thickness in the middle back and mid chest to protect vital organs.

Sheesh, this isn't some big conspiracy.

http://store1.yimg.com/I/security2020_1815_891486

Take that vest, put some extra plating in there to make it bullet proof for military grade rounds, and you have "the bulge".

[Drachen]

Whats the (for lack of better word) wire that goes down the middle of his back and around his waist. the rest of the vest looks pretty symetrical so shouldnt there be two wires, what are these wires' purpose.

[Yonivore]

Whats the (for lack of better word) wire that goes down the middle of his back and around his waist. the rest of the vest looks pretty symetrical so shouldnt there be two wires, what are these wires' purpose.
I think it was a suicide bomb vest. He was going to Martyr himself and take Kerry with him but Rove convinced him it wasn't necessary, at the last minute.

[Drachen]

I think it was a suicide bomb vest. He was going to Martyr himself and take Kerry with him but Rove convinced him it wasn't necessary, at the last minute.
... through the radio that was strapped to his back!
:lol

[Yonivore]

... through the radio that was strapped to his back!
:lol

http://www.wrightimages.org/Images/Celebrities/Actors/Star%20Dayz/Jon%20Lovitz.JPG
Yeah! That's the ticket!

[Drachen]

Do you guys ever think of something really funny to type, then as you type it, it's still funny to you but you know if you send it, no one would get it??

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Where the fuck do you get a wire going to his waist out of that pic?

I posted the first pic I could find of a bullet proof vest. Bush's would be different than that type, as its specifications would include the same type of coverage for his complete torso.

You're just as bad as Dan on this one. Maybe if I email the Secret Service they will provide us with the specs for the vest that is protecting our president, just to prove the idiot conspiracy nuts wrong (not to mention provide anyone with less than noble intentions with the specs and defensive capabilities of said vest).

Seriously, this whole radio transmitter thing doesn't even pass the common sense test. Did you watch the debate? Bush sucked, his answers would have been much better had he really been wired.

But why can't you conspiracy clowns put it to rest that it was a bullet proof vest? Geez...

[Useruser666]

Anyone who actually believes that Bush was using a headset that required a t-box (or any strap on reciever) and a bunch of wires is a moron. You can easily buy single piece ear phones that fit entirely inside the ear canal and have no external wires or recievers. Come on people, I can get a headset for my cell phone that is blue tooth wireless. This is the president you know, don't you think he would have the latest and greatest stuff?

I guess I have to quote myself on this. Why in the HELL would Bush use stuff that was obsolete in the 80's!!! Here it is in all caps now!

IN TODAY'S WORLD, WIRELESS HEAD PHONES ARE SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT INSIDE THE EAR AND DO NOT REQUIRE EXTERNAL RECIEVERS!!!!

I'm mean damn, Bush could have had a fricken cell phone held to his ear and that woul have been smaller. LET IT GO!!!

[ChumpDumper]

Whoever was on the other end of that alleged wire should've been fired.

Didn't help one bit.