Bush Bulge Mystery Unravels
President Offers A Simple Explanation: The Shirt Did It
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Play CBS Video Video Dueling In Dairyland With one week to go, the candidates took their campaigns to battleground state Wisconsin, reports John Roberts.
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Video Kerry Pounds On Iraq Errors John Kerry continued to pound away on the news of missing tons of explosives in Iraq as the latest sign of how the Bush administration has mishandled the war, Byron Pitts.
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Video Missing Explosives David Martin follows up on the mystery of the missing 350 tons of explosives from an Iraqi bunker.
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Another bulge shot... (CBS)
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But there was nary a bulge in sight when the president shook hands with Teresa Heinz-Kerry following the first debate. Laura Bush and John Kerry are in the background. (AP)
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The presidential bulge... (CBS)
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Interactive Campaign 2004 Complete election recap – winners/losers, money, issues and more.
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Photo Essay Great Debates Key moments and match-ups in past presidential debates.
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In The Spotlight The Odd Truth Strange but factual tales from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com.
"Please explain to me how it works so maybe if I were ever to debate again I could figure it out," Mr. Bush said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."
After television cameras showed a box-shaped bulge on his back during the first presidential debate, Internet bloggers wondered whether Mr. Bush had been wired to receive help with his responses from aides such as White House communications director Dan Bartlett and senior adviser Karen Hughes.
When asked about the bulge that appeared as he and Sen. John Kerry debated Sept. 30 in Coral Gables, Fla., Mr. Bush tantalized conspiracy theorists by saying, "Well, you know, Karen Hughes and Dan Bartlett had rigged up a sound system ... "
"You are getting in trouble," responded host Charles Gibson.
"I don't know what that is," Mr. Bush said. "I mean, it is — I'm embarrassed to say it's a poorly tailored shirt."
Mr. Bush said there was no sound system or electrical signal.
"I guess the assumption was that if I were straying off course they would ... kind of like a hunting dog, they would punch a buzzer and I would jerk back into place," Mr. Bush said. "That's just absurd."
The Bush campaign laughed off the speculation when it first blossomed on the Internet and then cropped up in news stories.
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