The bulge may break soon...

I can't post much now, but I thought I might drop in and inform readers that there are rumblings on the "Bush bulge" front. I'm told that the video of Bush in front of the 9/11 commission show definite signs of incipient Quasimodo-ishness.

More than that. Remember this part of the key Salon story (the one which leads off with a few words from yours truly)?

Atkinson also says that it's not just Bush who's been coached -- Bill Clinton, too, received ear-prompting. John Ashcroft is "quite notorious for using wireless headsets," and Janet Reno used a system during the siege at Waco, Texas. Atkinson has documented the dozens of radio frequencies that the White House uses for its communications, and has pointed to the make and model of the prompter devices popular in the government. One of these devices is the RC-216 Receive-A-Cue system, manufactured and sold by Comtek Communications in Salt Lake City.

This info neatly details with the alleged communication from the Secret Service agent -- who specified that Clinton used an earpiece for security purposes, but NOT during debates. (One wonders, though, if he had help when he had to bluff his way through that State of the Union address in which his teleprompter went mysteriously blank.)

I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this. If Clinton confirms that, in general, presidents do indeed use hidden earpieces, then "promptergate" receives a masssive dose of credibility. There will be a you-ain't-seen-nothin'-yet flurry of news coverage.

Of course, if that confirmation is forthcoming, the Right will use the occasion to indulge in their usual orgy of Clinton-hate, but I think we can prevent the issue from being diverted. Clinton is not on the ticket this year. Bush is.

How to get movement on this issue? My suggestion: Write to Hillary via her senate email address. It'll take you only a second.

If she gets a thousand letters asking her "Did Bill Clinton use an earpiece for security purposes?" she may well have to answer, or at least ask her husband to answer. Make sure that she understands that this question is not phrased as an attack on her husband.

I'll have further ideas and contact info later.