# Bush's Back Bulge: Tinfoil hat, or shenanigans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 8, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184 "2004-10-08T12:45:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/81 "2004-10-08T21:19:25Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Going for the Quasimodo vote. What’s that supposed to mean? No, don’t tell me, I’ve got a hunch… Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/82 "2004-10-08T21:19:58Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > [Here](http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/fwd/20041001/capt.fwd101b20041001jpg.jpg)’s anothe angle, for what it’s worth. It doesn’t dismiss anything though. It does highlight some horrible posture though. Notice how his shoulders are hunched, but his back is straight rather than curved forward. This supports the idea that he might be wearing a stiff brace or protective garment underneath. ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/83 "2004-10-08T21:20:52Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > …Sorry to interrupt your little Bush-bashing party. You may now return to your regularly scheduled espousal of inanity. One thing I think we can agree upon, that the liberals on this board, which is practically everybody, have conveniently ignored my points about Kerry’s suspiciously white teeth. I’ve dropped the noticeably swollen chin theory - which shows I can be fair about all of this – ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/84 "2004-10-08T21:35:43Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > …No, don’t tell me, I’ve got a hunch… Name rings a bell? ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/85 "2004-10-08T21:37:44Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Name rings a bell? LOL! You guys are killing me. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/86 "2004-10-08T21:38:42Z")
> [@Tigers2B1](#): > > One thing I think we can agree upon, that the liberals on this board, which is practically everybody, have conveniently ignored my points about Kerry’s suspiciously white teeth… OK, I’ll tell you. Our teeth are very white just after we feed. Got to promise not to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/87 "2004-10-08T21:39:16Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Going for the Quasimodo vote. Intelligent strategy, targetting the swingers. ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/88 "2004-10-08T21:46:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > OK, I’ll tell you. Our teeth are very white just after we feed. Got to promise not to tell. We already know. Even Republicans watch the _Discovery Channel_. The horror! ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/89 "2004-10-08T21:57:59Z")
As mush as I depise the spazz – and boy, do I ever! – could that bulge be a battery pack for one of those mics that sends the audio signal back to the direct feed? You know, like the ones newscasters wear – though they usually have the pack hooked to their belts. I suppose one way of knowning would be to look for a similar bulge on Kerry. Hmm…that last bit sounds kind of nasty/kinky. :dubious: Anyhoo. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/90 "2004-10-08T22:14:38Z")
Looks like a vest to me. Body armor, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/91 "2004-10-08T22:35:44Z")
I think this may come to no surprise, but they found out who was on the other end of that wire. [Photo here.](http://www.suzi-quzi.com/cheney.HTML)😃 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/92 "2004-10-08T22:53:13Z")
I still think it could be [one of these](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/8810.htm). I’m sure the Bush campaign would be very hesitant to reveal if the president were having testing of this nature, not that it would mean much, but it could scare people away from him. The monitor might have been creating a more noticeable bulge when it was in an inner pocket or hung around the front of his neck, so they swung it around to hang down his back? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/93 "2004-10-08T22:59:41Z")
What good does a halter monitor do when you _know_ the patient is in the middle of a high-pressure situation like a presidential debate? That’s like asking Greg Louganis to test an easter bonnet by going off the 10 meter board. Surely a doctor would tell you to remove such a device because any readings would be worthless. They’ve got tread mills for that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/94 "2004-10-08T23:11:35Z")
> [@Patty O'Furniture](#): > > What good does a halter monitor do when you _know_ the patient is in the middle of a high-pressure situation like a presidential debate? You leave it on for 24 hours, through good times and bad, in sickness and in health… oh wait. Well, it could be that they’re looking for something that isn’t showing up with physical exertion but does seem to occur under mental stress. It could be an event monitor, which he could be wearing for a longer term to look for very infrequent cardiac-related events. My husband has had to wear these in the past, though I can’t remember much about them. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/95 "2004-10-08T23:21:31Z")
“Mr. President, I don’t mean to embarrass you in any way, but I’m a rather brilliant surgeon. Perhaps I can help you with that hump.” ---
**Author:** ![snermy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@snermy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snermy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/96 "2004-10-09T00:03:38Z")
I _cannot_ believe that Bush’s side of that debate was assisted. Interesting bit at this link about GWB pauses and phrasing, breaks it down for a short segment of one of his replies. [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001537.html](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001537.html) Don’t think there’s much evidence for anything more than a poor extemporaneous speaker floundering to remember memorized points. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/97 "2004-10-09T00:26:17Z")
I’m betting if anyone here saw that bulge on a Secret Service man they would assume it’s a radio. It even looks like the wire switches from straight to coiled halfway up. But I certainly don’t assume cheating. It is well within reason to have Bush instantly in contact with security and emergency responses. The debate is a nice juicy target after all- or even a national distraction for action elsewhere. One thing’s for sure, with this and the CNN incident in France the Salon article mentions, there are going to be a lot of Bush-basher radio scanners going at his remaining campaign events. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/98 "2004-10-09T01:41:46Z")
I think it’s an electro-shock device, in case he freezes up on camera. Bush: … Flunky in a bunker two blocks from the debate: Uh-oh, he’s vapor locked again. Quick, give him a jolt. _\_ Bush: GAH! War on terror! ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/99 "2004-10-09T12:18:49Z")
After watching last night’s debate, and how … well … _chunky_ … Bush looked, I’m definitely casting a vote for body armor. Either that, or he put on a LOT of weight recently. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184/100 "2004-10-09T14:13:24Z")
If you blow up the portion of picture in question with Photoshop by 278%, run the sharpen filter and flip it upside down, you can CLEARLY see a MARTIAN colony, complete with a SPACE PORT and a 250-foot tall STATUE OF KARL ROVE. Those who call me a LIAR just do not wish to acknowledge the OBVIOUS. [takes off lead hat] Unless someone comes up with more pictures showing something, I’m not convinced it’s anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-back-bulge-tinfoil-hat-or-shenanigans/268184.md?page=6)