# George W. thinking on his feet **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377 "2007-01-17T21:11:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/1 "2007-01-17T21:11:33Z")
(This may degrade into a debate or pit but it should have a factual answer) How come I don’t remember George W. Bush, before becoming president or while campaigning to become president, ever appearing on shows like Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Hardball, or any other show where the guest had to think on their feet and openly debate other guests or the host? Has this trend just become recent? Did he appear on these shows but I just don’t remember it? I see McCain, Obama, Lieberman, and others appear regularly to openly discuss and debate all sorts of political issues and they have to think quick, are asked tough questions, and are called out for wishy-washy double-talk answers. I just don’t picture Bush doing well in such a format. Did he manage to avoid this somehow? ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/2 "2007-01-17T21:17:22Z")
Bush actively avoids speaking with the press or answering questions without them pre-ordained or scripted. IIRC, he didn’t even want to debate in '04, eventually did, and then, well, we all remember the “mystery bulge.” As a statement of fact: candidly answering questions is not one of our President’s strong suits.\* - Understatement of the day. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/3 "2007-01-17T21:19:21Z")
Um, I’ll admit to not following the debates especially closely, but I don’t recall the “mystery bulge.” Can you elaborate? ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/4 "2007-01-17T21:20:34Z")
Although in Feb. of 2004, he was indeed on Meet the Press. Trying to see if he was on any of these style shows pre 2000… ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/5 "2007-01-17T21:21:43Z")
[Here it is.](http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/10/08/bulge/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/6 "2007-01-17T21:22:08Z")
[QUOTE=Skammer] Um, I’ll admit to not following the debates especially closely, but I don’t recall the “mystery bulge.” Can you elaborate? [/QUOTE] Some photos showed what appeared to be an unusual bulge under his suitcoat. It was explained as related to security - maybe a bulletproof jacket. other folk suspected it was electronics for someone who was feeding his answers. There were several on-line photographic attempts to identify it - and many comic attempts as well. Should be quite google-able. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/7 "2007-01-17T21:24:32Z")
Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/8 "2007-01-17T21:24:50Z")
[QUOTE=Skammer] Um, I’ll admit to not following the debates especially closely, but I don’t recall the “mystery bulge.” Can you elaborate? [/QUOTE] No one’s really sure what it is, but type “Bush debate bulge” into google & you’ll be inundated with theories. [Salon](http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/10/08/bulge/index.html) has an article and a rather good picture of the offending bulge. The official administration line was a “poorly tailored suit,” which is fairly laughable. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/9 "2007-01-17T21:32:57Z")
That’s a pretty dumb place to put a receiver, if that’s what it was. His suitcoat has pockets, fer christ’s sake, and it’s not like he’s going to be frisked before he takes the podium. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/10 "2007-01-17T21:33:36Z")
In Bush’s defense, I’ll point out that Leiberman, McCain, and Obama are senators and Bush was a governor. Political interview shows tend to focus on Washington and figures in national not state politics. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/11 "2007-01-17T21:36:49Z")
Thanks for the link. I guess that since we had just had a baby three weeks earlier, I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to the news at that point. Very interesting. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/12 "2007-01-17T21:59:37Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] In Bush’s defense, I’ll point out that Leiberman, McCain, and Obama are senators and Bush was a governor. Political interview shows tend to focus on Washington and figures in national not state politics. [/QUOTE] Are you suggesting that Bush wanted to make appearances but they turned him down? ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/13 "2007-01-17T22:27:16Z")
It seems to me that, while working on his father’s campaign for President, he made appearances on political talk shows–I saw him perhaps on Larry King or Charlie Rose? (hazy, hazy memory of this). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/14 "2007-01-17T23:08:10Z")
[QUOTE=Ethilrist] His suitcoat has pockets, fer christ’s sake, and it’s not like he’s going to be frisked before he takes the podium. [/QUOTE] A suit’s pockets are all on the camera side. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/15 "2007-01-18T01:00:24Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] A suit’s pockets are all on the camera side. [/QUOTE] So was the back of his jacket (otherwise there would be no photos of it). I’m not sure that the bulge was a receiver though. I suspect these things are very small these days. Small enough that it could go in a pocket and not be visible at all. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/16 "2007-01-18T05:45:10Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] A suit’s pockets are all on the camera side. [/QUOTE] No they’re not. Most suit jackets have two or three pockets on the outside, plus at least two more inside. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/17 "2007-01-18T06:35:54Z")
[QUOTE=psychonaut] No they’re not. Most suit jackets have two or three pockets on the outside, plus at least two more inside. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but after his wallet, his cell phone, and the Single-Action Colt Walker revolver that all Texans are required by law to carry, he wouldn’t have room for a receiver! I’m thinking it’s probably some sort of bullet proof vest or action movie rescue harness jetpack or some other fairly mundane thing like that. Also possible that the suit actually was tailored wrong, and for some reason, nobody noticed until too late, presumably being concerned with more important things, like making sure the super-secret action-movie rescue-harness jetpack was properly secured under the coat. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/18 "2007-01-18T15:18:40Z")
One reason he doesn’t appear very often in ad hoc sessions might be this. In answere to a question in an[inerview on _The News Hour With Jim Lehrer_](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/white_house/jan-june07/bush_01-16.html) GW said > [@](#): > > MR. LEHRER: Let me ask you a bottom-line question, Mr. President. If it is as important as you’ve just said - and you’ve said it many times - as all of this is, particularly the struggle in Iraq, if it’s that important to all of us and to the future of our country, if not the world, why have you not, as president of the United States, asked more Americans and more American interests to sacrifice something? The people who are now sacrificing are, you know, the volunteer military - the Army and the U.S. Marines and their families. They’re the only people who are actually sacrificing anything at this point. > > PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, you know, I think a lot of people are in this fight. I mean, they sacrifice peace of mind when they see the terrible images of violence on TV every night. I mean, we’ve got a fantastic economy here in the United States, but yet, when you think about the psychology of the country, it is somewhat down because of this war. If loss of peace of mind equals sacrifice, my level of sacrifice shoots way up whenever I think of GW Bush being President of The US. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/19 "2007-01-18T18:21:51Z")
Can we count the 2000 Republican Primary Debates? My recollection is that Bush’s performance was rather less than stellar. (I specifically recall that he whiffed the question “Why do you want to be President?” - interestingly, the only candidate in the bunch who showed he had a clue as to what the Presidency is and is not about was Orrin Hatch, who was the first to drop out of the race for lack of support; says something about the electorate, I think). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377/20 "2007-01-19T05:57:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Are you suggesting that Bush wanted to make appearances but they turned him down? No, I agree that Bush is not gifted in this format and it’s doubtful he would have pushed for appearances. I’m just saying that he didn’t have to actively avoid them as the invitations to appear on these shows probably were very rare, at least up to the point where he announced his candidacy for President. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-thinking-on-his-feet/388377.md?page=2)