On 30 Oct 2004 23:35:09 -0700,

On 30 Oct 2004 23:35:09 -0700,

NASA photo analyst: Bush wore a device during debate
Physicist says imaging techniques prove the president's bulge was not
caused by wrinkled clothing.

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By Kevin Berger

Oct. 29, 2004 | George W. Bush tried to laugh off the bulge. "I
don't know what that is," he said on "Good Morning America" on
Wednesday, referring to the infamous protrusion beneath his jacket
during the presidential debates. "I'm embarrassed to say it's a poorly
tailored shirt."

Dr. Robert M. Nelson, however, was not laughing. He knew the president
was not telling the truth. And Nelson is neither conspiracy theorist
nor midnight blogger. He's a senior research scientist for NASA and
for Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and an international
authority on image analysis. Currently he's engrossed in analyzing
digital photos of Saturn's moon Titan, determining its shape, whether
it contains craters or canyons.

For the past week, while at home, using his own computers, and off the
clock at Caltech and NASA, Nelson has been analyzing images of the
president's back during the debates. A professional physicist and
photo analyst for more than 30 years, he speaks earnestly and
thoughtfully about his subject. "I am willing to stake my scientific
reputation to the statement that Bush was wearing something under his
jacket during the debate," he says. "This is not about a bad suit. And
there's no way the bulge can be described as a wrinkled shirt."

Nelson and a scientific colleague produced the photos from a
videotape, recorded by the colleague, who has chosen to remain
anonymous, of the first debate. The images provide the most vivid
details yet of the bulge beneath the president's suit. Amateurs have
certainly had their turn at examining the bulge, but no professional
with a résumé as impressive as Nelson's has ventured into public with
an informed opinion. In fact, no one to date has enhanced photos of
Bush's jacket to this degree of precision, and revealed what appears
to be some kind of mechanical device with a wire snaking up the
president's shoulder toward his neck and down his back to his waist.

Nelson stresses that he's not certain what lies beneath the
president's jacket. He offers, though, "that it could be some type of
electronic device -- it's consistent with the appearance of an
electronic device worn in that manner." The image of lines coursing up
and down the president's back, Nelson adds, is "consistent with a wire
or a tube."

Nelson used the computer software program Photoshop to enhance the
texture in Bush's jacket. The process in no way alters the image but
sharpens its edges and accents the creases and wrinkles. You've seen
the process performed a hundred times on "CSI": pixelated images are
magnified to reveal a clear definition of their shape.

Bruce Hapke, professor emeritus of planetary science in the department
of geology and planetary science at the University of Pittsburgh,
reviewed the Bush images employed by Nelson, whom he calls "a very
highly respected scientist in his field." Hapke says Nelson's process
of analyzing the images are the "exact same methods we use to analyze
images taken by spacecraft of planetary surfaces. It does not
introduce any artifacts into the picture in any way."

How can Nelson be certain there's some kind of mechanical device
beneath Bush's jacket? It's all about light and shadows, he says. The
angles at which the light in the studio hit Bush's jacket expose
contours that fit no one's picture of human anatomy and wrinkled
shirts. And Nelson compared the images to anatomy texts. He also
experimented with wrinkling shirts in various configurations, wore
them under his jacket under his bathroom light, and couldn't produce
anything close to the Bush bulge.

In the enhanced photo of the first debate, Nelson says, look at the
horizontal white line in middle of the president's back. You'll see a
shadow. "That's telling me there's definitely a bulge," he says. "In
fact, it's how we measure the depths of the craters on the moon or on
Mars. We look at the angle of the light and the length of shadow they
leave. In this case, that's clearly a crater that's under the
horizontal line -- it's clearly a rim of a bulge protruding upward,
one due to forces pushing it up from beneath."

Hapke, too, agrees that the bulge is neither anatomy nor a wrinkled
shirt. "I would think it's very hard to avoid the conclusion that
there's something underneath his jacket," he says. "It would certainly
be consistent with some kind of radio receiver and a wire."

Nelson admits that he's a Democrat and plans to vote for John Kerry.
But he takes umbrage at being accused of partisanship. "Everyone wants
to think my colleague and I are just a bunch of dope-crazed ravaged
Democrats who are looking to insult the president at the last minute,"
he says. "And that's not what this is about. This is scientific
analysis. If the bulge were on Bill Clinton's back and he was lying
about it, I'd have to say the same thing."

"Look, he says, "I'm putting myself at risk for exposing this. But
this is too important. It's not about my reputation. If they force me
into an early retirement, it'll be worth it if the public knows about
this. It's outrageous statements that I read that the president is
wearing nothing under there. There's clearly something there."
v
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/29/bulge/