Bush looks a little lumpy, as he reads his speech at the dedication of the WWII Memorial. Is he wearing body armor under his suit?
Given current events IMO it’s almost certain he’s wearing the best body armor available when making pre-announced public appearances.
Followup Question: Is it common practice for presidents to wear body armour?
AFAIK…none except for Bush.
This strikes me as being a reasonable precaution… but wouldn’t a high-powered rifle bullet defy such protection?
astro, to comment upon that article’s question about grunts getting body armor… having been a grunt myself, I can assure you that it’s not quite as wonderful an idea as it might sound at first blush. Body armor adds considerable weight, bulk and discomfort while still leaving you exposed to a lot of small arms fire, and in conventional warfare you are generally in more danger of being killed by various and sundry sorts of artillery or air bombardment than you are by small arms. Body armor would certainly add some protection, but whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks isn’t as obvious a balance as you might think.
I read Blackhawk Down before the movie was out, and it seemed to me that there were an inordinate number of digits being shot off. Maybe not; but it seemed that way when I read it.
Correction: Black Hawk Down.
Wasn’t Bush Sr. wearing body armor when we threw out the first pitch at some baseball game?? (a.k.a. the infamous “Bush throws like a girl” picture) I could swear that I heard from somewhere that he was compaining about it afterwards, like “you try throwing a baseball with 30lbs. of body armor on you and tell me how graceful you are!”
Unlike the President, the infantry doesn’t spend a lot of time standing in one place giving speeches, allowing the enemy to calmly take aim.
On at least one occasion, Ronald Reagan was unable to take off his coat during an outdoor speech because he was wearing body armor. I wonder who the first sitting Prez to wear the stuff was?
This was a plotline on the last episode of this year’s West Wing.
Could it be taken from reality? Possibly, but I would have expected somebody to comment on it if so.