Apparently Bush DOES Wear An Earpiece

From today's Media Channel blog.

It reminds me of the movie Broadcast News with William Hurt when he has the script piped in from his producer.

Thinking of the Supreme Commander GWB, I am reminded of an incident last Saturday when he was praising French President Chirac. I was watching CNN when all of a sudden, I heard another voice speaking Bush's pre-scripted lines before he did. That's right---the other voice would be heard BEFORE Bush's voice. What was that?

I thought at the time that that may have been done to give translators a head start on the President's words. Later, I had a call from a reader in Germany who told me she heard the same thing on CNN International including that same voice telling Bush what journalists to call on before he did. We have never heard that before. She asked: "Is someone controlling the president like a ventriloquist"?

It reminded me of a trick that some TV correspondents use for their on camera standups. They pre-record their standups for playback in their ears, and then turn to the camera in a way that you can't see the ear plug. They then play the tape and mouth their own words a long a few seconds later. It takes practice to be able to repeat the words but it makes for a smoother delivery without having to read. If I am right this means that this technique is used by the President to give his speeches the appearance of spontaneity, especially if he can't remember his own words. In this case, CNN picked up this audio track, perhaps because it was on a radio mic.

•  Anyone?

  Did anyone else catch this?
  

  by ebradlee10 on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:28:09 AM PDT

  •  Marisacat did

    And then, after she did a diary on it, some other folks caught it on teevee.

    by emptywheel on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:30:57 AM PDT

    •  Crap

      I didn't realize a diary was already done.  

      My apologies for the waste of time & bandwidth.

      by ebradlee10 on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:33:01 AM PDT

      •  Nah

        I wasn't nagging about the multiple diaries. I'm glad to see this is getting some additional attention.

        I was just remarking that Marisacat had noticed it herself...

        by emptywheel on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:42:39 AM PDT

      •  Oh no I did

        a diary the day it happened, last Sat am,... I did not know it had been professionally caught and reported on.
        I hoped it would be, but the Reagan death intervened very quickly.

        FOX and MSGOP played the presser from the Elysee Palace live, but later in clips on CNN they still had the "prompts".   I owndered if they were stuck in the audio til scrubbed.
        No, thanks, for this diary, it is from an enitrley different view point and days later.

        by Marisacat on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:42:58 AM PDT

        •  You were

          the one to break the story first.

          We need a tech wiz to get close enough so they can find the frequency. Then we change the speach with something along the lines of, "I can't believe how stupid the electorate is. Can't you see that I am a blithering idiot?"

          by Mike S on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:02:31 AM PDT

          •  Win a trip to sunny Cuba...

            Trying to manipulate a speech would probably result in a one way ticket to a dusty cell off the tip of Florida.

            It would be interesting to try to pick up the signal and record both the prompts (private) and the broadcast (public).

            by Jeff in NY on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:14:01 AM PDT

          •  Brilliant

            That would be fricking brilliant.

            Or we could have him say, "Y'know, I'm sick of all this highfalutin bullshit, and I'd really just like to get back to the ranch get wasted. And don't these people know I don't give a shit about them? I mean, fricking idiots. I need a drink."

            by emptywheel on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:19:13 AM PDT

        •  Thanks

          Marisacat,  I just read your Diary. If you were to send it to Danny Schecter at Media Channel, linking to your diary, I'm sure he would post it.

          I agree, I think getting this "perpetuated" a little bit would be a good thing.

          His email is [e-mail]

          If you can't, I'd be happy to send it to him, linking it to your diary.

          by ebradlee10 on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:10:40 AM PDT

          •  Thank you for the thought...

            I will send it, and thanks for the email addy... and now this diary inlcudes the first post I entered.  I waited a few minutes to do a diary as usually many have TV on, but it was Sat am and I suddenly realised many were running errands etc... and I wanted to know who else did hear it.

            I will send mine, maybe between us it will help him in some way... thanks again...

            by Marisacat on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:46:24 AM PDT

        •  I remember...

          ...you were actually in the middle of a post when it happened. It was like you fell off your chair when you realised -- but still managed to keep typing!

          Omigod the wierdest thing is happening on FOX, there is a bleed thru in the audio, there is an echo of Bush's words... TURN It on, ti is the feed into Bushes ear... It told him who to call on... PUT ON FOX

          (Here.)

          ;)

          by gong on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:39:17 AM PDT

  •  I Heard It

    But I figured it was just a weird audio/video feed problem with CNN.  That is, that I was hearing a quieter feed of Bush audio just before I heard the normal, synchronized feed.  The quiet voice had exactly the same meter and emphasis as the definite Bush voice.

    by Michael D on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 11:28:30 AM PDT

•  Lipsynching

  Brought down Milli Vanilli

  I think it's a bit of a bigger thing if our President is really being told what to say to the public. Why isn't this a news story? Is it a dirty little secret?

  by Steven R on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:31:45 AM PDT

•  Jeebus

  SOMEONE must have tivo'd this.  Anyone post it online yet?

  by abe ferlman on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:36:13 AM PDT

•  But is there any video evidence

  of the codpiece?

  by Categorically Imperative on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:43:27 AM PDT

  •  photographic evidence?

    is this the press conference to which everyone is referring?

    Problem is, of course he has an earpiece. He was listening to Chirac's translation. Who knows what else was going in that earpiece.

    I'm sure any earpiece they use at any other press conference (like one conducted entirely in English) would have to be some CIA-type microscopic thing that's entirely undetectable.

    by thirdparty on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:59:42 AM PDT

    •  He owuld take the

      "translation" earpiece out when Chriac was not speaking.  He did so for the duration of his opening "prepared" remarks, which is when the bleed thru occurred.  It even included the name of the first reported Bush called on.

      by Marisacat on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:03:06 AM PDT

      •  i see

        Thanks for the further details.

        It would certainly explain Bush's halting style of speech.

        And if stuff like this is available on the open market, imagine what the President of the United States has access to. You'd never see any evidence of it on video.

        Forget about cracking the frequency and feeding Bush lines. It would be a lot more fun to feed him some horribly loud feedback and watch him writhe in pain. Let 'em explain that. A stroke? A pretzel got stuck in his ear?

        by thirdparty on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:31:44 AM PDT

        •  Halting speech

          I bet we could figure out when he started to go to audio feed based on when that halting speech pattern started. As bad as he used to speak, at least it used to be more competent than it is now. We'd just need to look at the speeches...

          by emptywheel on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 11:13:29 AM PDT

          •  I swear I noticed during the Russert interview

            that Bush repeated an instruction to show compassion for the families of soldiers fallen in Iraq.  It sounded completely out of place.

            But when I looked at the transcript later, I saw no evidence of it, so I was either imagining that a tiny voice was coaching him, or they edited the transcript.  Can't recall who provded the transcript, either . . .

            by rhubarb on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 02:15:45 PM PDT

      •  Not only that

        But at one point he goes to put the translation piece into his right ear and then he stops for a second and moves it to his left ear.  I assume because something was already in his right ear.  That's what it looked like to me on the bit I saw on CNN.

        by Kels on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 11:10:03 AM PDT

    •  Russert interview

      The first I heard this theory floated was after Bush's Russert interview. He was always filmed from an odd angle, which didn't show his (IIRC) left ear.

      by emptywheel on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:22:48 AM PDT

•  Unbelievable

  If it's caught on video, Michael Moore should add the scene to his movie.

  by Gary Sugar on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 09:52:00 AM PDT

  •  That was my hope

    as the 8 or so minutes played out, and then I caught my breath and hoped Moore could get it and put it in.  It needs wide disemination.

    by Marisacat on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:00:42 AM PDT

    •  Yes --

      odd but I suspect that this is something that would outrage more of the electorate enough to turn on GWB than all the WH scandals have done.

      (Is it really possible that GWB could regularly get transmissions that are undectable by any other electronic mikes?)  

      by Marie on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:08:48 AM PDT

•  I saw the press event

  and stopped for a minute when I heard this weird voice slightly ahead of Bush. Watching further, at one point Bush ended his sentence but the voice continued. Bush  looked startled, finished the sentence and then flashed one of his little smirks. I can't remember, but either right before he restarted the sentence, or right after after he finished, he gave this little nod. My husband and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Neither of us could remember where the nod came, but had a great discussion about whether it was an "oh fuck" nod or a "I'm good" nod.

  Truly amazing.

  by kimo on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:20:18 AM PDT

  •  so you have a recording?

    
    Doesn't matter if it's TiVo.

    Make it available. You'll get technical help here.

    by Felix Deutsch on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:44:10 AM PDT

    •  Nope, no Tivo

      No nothing. Oh how I wish I did.

      by kimo on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 11:13:48 AM PDT

  •  Kerry

    I bet the Kerry campaign has footage.  If they are worth a nickle they are recording every one of his public appearances as background research.  Wouldn't it be nice to see this resurface shortly after the Reagan funeral.

    by out grrl on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 11:20:13 AM PDT

•  Spy earpiece

  This system, settles in the ear, WITHOUT CABLES, and he receives the signal from a repeater that can be in its pocket.  
  Connected to a mobile telephone he can receive from any other telephone with limitless range, or connected reach to some walkie Talkie, from up to 2 kilometers.

  

  by rlm on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:25:13 AM PDT

•  I watched the press conferance on all three cable

  outlets(CNN,MSNBC,FOX)because i thought something was wrong with the sound(all three had the same sound).I thought maybe we were getting a satilite delay and a direct feed at the same time.Someone needs to figuere out if their using a puppetier routine.

  by ctkeith on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:34:52 AM PDT

•  I heard this too

  I saw a bit of this on MSNBC.  However, I thought the second voice sounded like Bush too, so I just assumed there was some screw-up with the audio feed on MSNBC.  Was the voice different from Bush's own?

  by TheC on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:39:05 AM PDT

  •  It was different

    and there were tiny differences.  It was a faintly western/southern voice but more authentic than the Bush twangolarodeo (or whatever it is) and it breathed at different point and Bush would add things like "well".  The guy sounded bored, and why I never thought it ws a translation service (ie run the words ahead for the simul translation) was this:  the voice was the absolute generic voice of the GOP.  Sounded like an operative.  A less southern Hayley Barbour.

    by Marisacat on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 10:52:43 AM PDT

    •  Now

      Now we have to figure out how to screw up the mic at the debates.  Anyone know of some sort of scrambling technology that we could use?  I wonder if that is what happened at the disasterous press conference?

      I agree it was completely bizarre - watched a bit of it and couldn't get past the distracting dual voices. I even flipped through the news channels and they were all carrying it.

      by out grrl on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 11:17:27 AM PDT

•  Wouldn't it be great fun

  If the environment Bush speaks in experienced technical difficulties? Lots of static on short-range broadcast frequencies. A white noise generator?

  Or the TV station started broadcasting the separate feed with a voice analyzer track alongside Bush's speech with a voice analyzer track?

  Make it patently obvious that Bush's lines are being fed to him.

  by Bill Rehm on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 11:33:59 AM PDT

•  Remember he's dyslexic

  Using an earpiece may be to make up for being unable to read from a teleprompter.

  I'm serious -- and actually, I think it's fair means, given that he has a disability. I'd cut him a little slack for it. FDR couldn't walk, and the press quite rightly allowed him to disguise that fact.

  I'm not concerned that he gets someone to read the script into his ear. It does bother me if someone is driving him like a puppet, telling him who to call on and feeding him responses to impromptu questions. That smacks of something scary -- the man behind the curtain.

  Actually, given the infrequency of his press conferences and his unwillingness to answer unscripted questions, we already have all the evidence we need of his inability to think on his feet. That's the real concern.
  

  by samizdat on Wed Jun 09, 2004 at 12:02:07 PM PDT