I’ve not really been paying to much attention to this issue of whether Bush was wearing some sort of communications device durring the first debate.

By my reckoning, it is a sideshow. Sure, it would be a pretty dishonorable thing for Bush and his campaign to do, and sure it would make his absolutely horrible performance durring that debate only that much more damming, but somehow, I can’t get too worked up about it.

As Anthony notes:

Is it really hard for us to believe that political campaigns — particularly the Bush campaign — would stop to wiring the president for sound? It’s not even slightly hard for me to believe.

More to the point, its not that hard for me to believe that the President would be wired for sound at all times simply as part of his job. Some people have such a need to be connected that they carry two cell phones at all times, wouldn’t the President of the US need to go beyond that?

Or would he. I mean, he doesn’t go anywhere without a entourage of security and support people. Why would he need to carry so much as a cell phone? The only reason would be to feel and appear to be a sort of archetypal American everyman. Of course, I don’t know two many men, American or otherwise, who go around with big rectangular bulges in the middle of their backs.

Which I guess brings us full circle to the question I’ve been avoiding asking, which is “what the hell did Bush have on his back that night.”