I can tell I’ve been reading blogs and Salon.com too much lately because a lot of bizarre things are beginning to weird me out about Bush and these debates.

There are a number of stories going around about a mysterious bulge in Bush’s suit in all three debates. I see him on the campaign trail on CNN a lot and he’s usually in shirtsleeves and I don’t see a bulge. It’s interested to note, too, that the campaigns had a rule that was supposed to restrict TV from using camera shots of the backs of the candidates. It’s getting weirder, though, as now Rev. Jesse Jackson is joining the public call for an answer and the Herald ran the story. Brad DeLong has a decent rundown. So, weird thing one.

The second weird thing, related to the first, is that there is a lot of speculation about Bush’s health. He’s passed on his physical for this year, putting it off until after the election. I posted a video up a few days ago showing Bush as an articulate politician ten years ago in his gubernatorial debate. The message from the creator of the video was that Bush has a mental heath disorder. I don’t really believe this, I guess, because it seems like people would fess up about that. There is more speculation today about that particular issue, as people are finding more circumstantial evidence to support this claim. Nothing definitive, just the coincidences of a postponed physical, his speaking style, and some other things. I’m not even going to link to anything about this, because beyond being weirded out by the thought that no one would actually tell us if the Pres were even partially disabled, I have no reason to believe this.

Then, there’s the third weird thing for today. Apparently, someone that could read lips saw the end of the debates when Bush and Kerry seemed to talk for a bit more than the normal thank yous at the end of their other debates. They saw that Bush asked Kerry if he could speak to him later and where Kerry would be later. Kerry’s back was turned to the camera at this point, and thus that person was unable to see his responses. Again, no independent, credible confirmation, but it’s an odd thing. I’ve never heard of something like this. The speculation on this meeting is, as you might imagine, off the charts from Bush blackmailing Kerry with something to Bush saying he will need to drop out of the race for health reasons (see above).

Anyway, the cumulative effect of all of this almost conspiracy theoryish stuff is that I’m just getting weirded out. Too many dissonant things going on… all of this weird Bush behavior plus Senators closing their D.C. offices (Kim, have you duct taped your windows?). I hope all of it is just weird coincidences and not any actual substance.