The Bush wire theory: more than a hunch?

The Bush wire theory: more than a hunch?
David Teather in New York
Monday October 11, 2004
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1324493,00.html
George Bush has long been lampooned by opponents as a puppet for the real brains in the White House. After his first presidential debate with John Kerry, internet bulletin boards have been hosting a growing clamour of rumours that they finally have the proof.

A photograph from the Associated Press, taken of the president from behind, appears to show a small bulge under his jacket between the shoulder blades, sparking speculation that he was being coached through a wire.

Those contributing to bulletin boards have noted that at one point in the debate, Mr Bush said: "Let me finish," even though nobody had been heard to interrupt him - a riposte, perhaps, to the voice in his ear.

Others note numerous pauses during Mr Bush's answers. David Lindorff wrote on Salon.com: "On several occasions, the president simply stopped speaking for an uncomfortably long time and stared ahead with an odd expression on his face.

"Was he listening to someone helping him with his response to a question?"

But one contributor to the Blue Lemur messageboard wrote: "The 'let me finish' line - Bush saying some thing in the middle of a sentence that makes no sense is nothing new; he does it all the time ... As for his 'dramatic pauses', I assume this [was] put in as a joke. Bush can never finish a sentence without stopping and trying to remember what he was talking about."

The White House refused to comment on the rumours, and the Bush campaign laughed them off. A spokesman, Scott Stanzel, said: "Some people have been spending too many hours looking at leftwing conspiracy websites. Did you hear the one about Elvis moderating the third debate?"

Mr Bush's tailor, Georges de Paris, has also dismissed the claim.

He told reporters at the weekend that the bulge was nothing more than a pucker along the jacket's seam when the president crossed his arms and leaned forward.