Unplugged

When I first heard the maelstrom of rumors speculating that Mr. Bush may have been wired for audio during the first debate, I was sceptical. The images I saw on TV of the unusally square and stiff area on Mr. Bush's back appeared to me to most likely be a panel of Kevlar sewn into his suit jacket. However, having read this article at Cryptome, I'm less sure of myself. The object is clearly more than a panel of fabric, and the series of stills shows that the object doesn't move--it doesn't move--no matter how Mr. Bush shifts. That is more than mere bunching of the suit, as his tailor claims.

Cryptome also provides evidence that the Secret Service has multiple frequencies for wireless, under-clothing transmitters/receivers.

Then there is this telling paragraph in the included Salon.com article:

Suggestions that Bush may have using this technique stem from a D-day event in France, when a CNN broadcast appeared to pick up -- and broadcast to surprised viewers -- the sound of another voice seemingly reading Bush his lines, after which Bush repeated them. Danny Schechter, who operates the news site MediaChannel.org, and who has been doing some investigating into the wired-Bush rumors himself, said the Bush campaign has been worried of late about others picking up their radio frequencies -- notably during the Republican Convention on the day of Bush's appearance. "They had a frequency specialist stop me and ask about the frequency of my camera," Schechter said. "The Democrats weren't doing that at their convention."

Then again, maybe this is what it was.

--Unrelated commentary on Bush's recent personality shift, from The Guardian: The Madness of George, by Markos Moulitsas