another bulge theory:MSNBC

[clover]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5445086/&&CM=domain&CE=hardblogger

• October 11, 2004 | 7:23 p.m. ET

That box in Bush's suit jacket (David Shuster)

After a weekend of reading about it on the web, and hearing my very own relatives discuss it...  this afternoon I conducted a "formal investigation" into the mysterious box that appeared in the middle of President Bush's back during the first presidential debate.  "The Shuster commission" considered this story with an open mind... "The commission" (comprised of "me, myself, and I") was open to the possibility the President "was wired electronically or otherwise"... but also open to the claim that the photos were "a hoax."  The Shuster commission report has three sections.  (1) Methods; (2) Results; (3) Conclusions

Methods:   Armed with a cool bottle of cranberry juice, I locked myself into an NBC News edit bay for an hour with a videotape containing the entire first presidential debate from Sept. 30, 2004.  (As a pre-emptive shot against some of you... I "scrolled through" parts of the debate... thus I spent an hour and not "90 minutes.)   First, I examined every "2 shot" of President Bush and John Kerry in that debate.   (A "2 shot" or "wide shot" if you want to call it that, is one where you see the back of the person who is talking and you also see the person they are talking to -- in this case it was the moderator Jim Lehrer sitting at the table.)  Secondly, I looked at every two shot in slow motion.   Third, I watched (also in slow motion and by freezing the videotape) the arrivals on stage of both President Bush and John Kerry, including a telling shot where both men had just shaken hands and had to turn their backs to the audience to get around their respective lecterns.  Fourth, I carefully examined the end of the debate where President Bush and Senator Kerry shake hands and are then greeted by their families.  (Both Senator Kerry and President Bush turn their back at different times on this section of the videotape as wellto the audience.)

Results:  At several points on the tape, most prominently between approximately 9:30pm and 10:15pm, there does appear to be some "mysterious object"  in the back of the President's suit jacket.  However, when the tape is slowed down, you see the object changing form depending on the President's movement and how the light hits the back of his jacket.  In addition, the object appears to be long and narrow when Mr. Bush is hunched over, but short and wide when he is standing taller a few minutes later.   As for John Kerry...at one point around 9:30pm, the Senator also appears to have an object in the back of his suit jacket... but to the Shuster commission, it had the shape of one of those wooden spaghetti mixing forks.   (*Exclusive, must credit to MSNBC "hardblog")  Said "spaghetti fork" seems to disappear a short time later.  In examining the President and John Kerry at the beginning and end of the debate, no objects or "bunching up" can be seen in either men's suit jacket.

Conclusions:  The image of a "mysterious box" or "form bunching up" under the President's suit jacket was likely caused by a COMBINATION OF (1) sweat; (2) a heavily starched shirt under the suit jacket, (3) Mr. Bush's "leaning over" and "angled" posture; (4) the angle of the lighting on stage that illuminated the President's head and back; (5) the sheen of the fabric in Mr. Bush's suit jacket. 

The Shuster commission concludes the mysterious form on President Bush CAN NOT be some sort of electronic device because of the way it changed shape as the President leaned a few inches to either his right or left.  The mysterious form also seems to disappear at times... and is not detectable at the beginning or end of the debate.  Furthermore, a close examination of videotape showing the President's head turned to both sides revealed no hearing aid or other type of listening device in either ear.

The Shuster commission also concludes the mysterious form (aka "spaghettic fork") that appears briefly underneath Senator Kerry's jacket was likely caused by (1) sweat; (2) a heavily starched shirt under the suit jacket; (3) momentary bad posture by Senator Kerry; (4) the angle of the lighting on stage; (5) the sheen of the fabric in Mr. Kerry's suit jacket (which was arguably not as likely to create mysterious forms as the sheen on Mr. Bush's jacket.)

So, conspiracy theorists, take heart... you weren't entirely crazy.  You did see something that wasn't a faked picture.  But, the picture was not of a candidate who was "wired,"... just one who was sweating, wearing a starched shirt, and using bad posture.

[Free2BMe]

1. According to ABC news..it was bad tailoring

[autorank]

2. David Shuster is the worst type of twit!

Clever and silly, he comes on as the amusement factor on the NBCs. When this thing is over and more truth comes out about *, it's going to be time for a media tear-down: all the majors have to go! None of these clowns, (e.g., Shuster, Matthews, the Faux crew, Zahn, Scarborough), can be allowed to resurface. We won't be doing it with 50% of the population, Kerry's %, but with about 65%. They can't hide their betrayals much longer and when those are facing the public in the face and costing jobs, etc., there will be an uprising. With two to three years, 'the majors' will be minor and there will be a new media without the usual suspects. Count on it!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

3. It could be an electrode pad for a TENS Unit

Those are soft and adhere to the body over areas experiencing pain. Some are large squares. They are used to transmit electrical signals to the body from a TENS Unit, the latter which is worn on the belt. Here are some samples of electrode pads:

http://www.vitalityweb.com/backstore/electrodes.htm

A soft, pliable adhesive electrode pad would show its outline when a cloth jacket is pulled taut across it but disappear when the material above it gets bunched up and loose.

Bush has a bad back according to his August, 2001 medical exam. I have a feeling there's something medically wrong with him. I think Bush has been taking heavy doses of pain killers and possibly has become addicted to drugs. That and his previous drug and alcohol abuse has been eating away at his mind. This explains some of the press conferences where he's appeared to sleepwalk through them. For the debates, his handlers might have decided not to try using drugs so that he could appear awake and they tried a TENS Unit instead.

[librechik]

5. and Karl could turn it up to OUCH! whenever Bushie misbehaves!

nope, I own and use one of those,(rotator cuff surgery) and the pads (even the large ones) are much flatter, about like mounting tape, and do not make a shape similar to the one we see in the back shot of Bush. IMO the pads would be invisible, though if the jacket was very tight, you might be able to discern the wires (<1/8 in. in diameter.)

The electrical plant for the TNS is also much snaller (in portable versions) than the bulge, and it needs to go in front at the belt where the user or assistant can reach it and adjust it. If they taped it to his back for a long treatment DURING the debate...(aside from the whole idea being bizarre--just how severe IS his pain???!!!) -- well, all I can say is it can't have been "therapeutic." They don't recommend leaving it on the skin and activated for longer than a few minutes (say 15-20) at a time, although it can be timed to 4 hrs, who knows why. It's also somewhat distracting, and I wouldn't want to take a test, say, while using it, although I do wear it in the car when someone else is driving.

That corporate blogger is drinkin the koolaid.

[newsguyatl]

4. this is the absolute DUMBEST thing i've ever read