WP: For President Under Duress, Body Language Speaks Volumes

[Bumblebee]

For President Under Duress, Body Language Speaks Volumes

By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, October 12, 2005; A07

It's only 6:17 a.m. Central time, and President Bush is already facing his second question of the day about Karl Rove's legal troubles.

"Does it worry you," NBC's Matt Lauer is asking him at a construction-site interview in Louisiana, that prosecutors "seem to have such an interest in Mr. Rove?"

Bush blinks twice. He touches his tongue to his lips. He blinks twice more. He starts to answer, but he stops himself.

"I'm not going to talk about the case," Bush finally says after a three-second pause that, in television time, feels like a commercial break.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

ttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/11/AR2005101101577.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. my, my, my now the WaPo touching on the body language?

bout bloody time, it is amazing to watch

[Bumblebee]

5. Watch the WH being utterly pissed re that one. This is the president

who "never blinks first," mind you! :) Dana must have been bored out of his wits and decided to count blinks since they provided him with no other language than the body language. An irritated journalist's payback time. Now this blinking counter/meter will definitely catch on.

[FreedomAngel82]

31. It's getting so good!

:popcorn:

[babylonsister]

2. Just... wow. I could have seen the blivet, but

avoided him all day, willfully! For the wapo to spread this, just... wow. :wow:

[FrenchieCat]

3. Doesn't quick blinking means

a lie is being told?

[Carolab]

10. Yes, and so does the fidgeting.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/11/1057783343045.html

[unrepuke]

14. Moving lips, in Bush's case

[Carolab]

15. A whole assortment of tics reported by Milbank.

Hiking up pants, shifting from side to side, licking lips, averting gaze, etc., etc.

[DemReadingDU]

21. interesting article

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

4. I'm looking forward to the WP's article on Bush's coke jaw...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2150617&mesg_id=2150617

:evilgrin:

[omega minimo]

6. "The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the"

drugs

[mom cat]

7. OOOh ..Does someone have a link to the interview! I NEED to see!

:rofl:

[Memekiller]

8. I hate these kinds of stories...

It's like the stories trying to read so much into Gore's or Clark's choice of clothes. Who cares!!! The man's fucking up the country, and you want to talk about blinking?

[paineinthearse]

9. Conside the source - Dana Milbank

:wow:

[Bumblebee]

11. all true -- but for Bush this is utter humilation, and what's bad for him

is by definition great for us! :)

[babylonsister]

12. That's even more of a sign. I know he can suck, but he

also has been spot on with some of his analysis.

[TrogL]

18. You have no idea how important this is

I suffer from Asperger's syndrome. I miss out on a lot of social cues. Most people get an instinctive feel for socialization. I don't. I have to do it the hard way, by collecting clues and analyzing them.

If I see someone leaking water from their eyes, it's a good guess that they're upset, unless they're around an inhaled irritant (eg. onions) or they "crying with laughter" which is even more confusing.

This reporter has taken it to the next level and is using techniques used by the police in analysing whether someone is or isn't lying. It's the kind of stuff you see on CSI.

One of the easiest clues someone is lying is their blink rate. It goes waaaay up when they're lying. Another is fidgeting. Ask any parent.

Either Dubya is lying, or he has reason to be nervous about something, or he's on drugs or he's sick.

Regardless of what it is, the American public (and the world) has a right to know. The man with his finger on the red button can't be twitching.

[Pacifist Patriot]

23. That's a good point I hadn't considered.

Your average person is typically unaware of subtle behavior clues such as blinking. Those with AS and other health issues could be missing out on even bigger clues. I think stories like this are important.

[Lisa]

28. you might find this article of interest -- voice stress analysis of Bush

http://www.martinlewis.com/column.pl?col=26&cat=time

This was done back in 2000, in comparison to Gore.

"Bush declared "I don't support censorship." That was declared an Inaccuracy. (Now I'M afraid. Very afraid.) From this point on the Truster was either detecting some big time evasions in the Governor's voice - or it developed a bad attitude about Mr. Bush.

His replies on how to reassure people about the political system "We need to shoot straight with young and old alike" and (most ironically) "it needs somebody in office who'll tell the truth" drew flashing "False Statements" from the computer. As did his comments on capital punishment ("it saves lives") and his Texas record ("I brought folks together.")"

[Pacifist Patriot]

22. Choice of clothes and blinking are two entirely different things.

Blinking is a physiological reaction to stress. What you choose to wear is not. The number of times he blinks in a minute is directly proportional to the level of stress he is feeling. Which is why it can be a telling indicator of lying. Whether you realize it or not your stress levels elevate when lying and therefore you blink more.

This type of story may seem dumb but it has a heck of a lot more bearing on the world we live in than whether someone's tie is red or blue. This is more evidence that Bush is declining. Given three more years of his reign this is alarming indeed.

[Straight Shooter]

26. Body language is an art science

A person's body gestures often tell as much as the words they speak. It's like when you know someone is lying but you just can't explain why. Their body gestures are what's tipping you off, usually.

[radio4progressives]

33. Totally Agree.. The story sucked - The fidgeting, and Blinking is OLD NEWS

:puke:

report something IMPORTANT please.

:thumbsdown:

[Carolab]

13. This is quite something.

Certainly, Bush retained many of the gestures that work well for him: the purposeful but restrained hand gestures, the head-tilted smile of amusement and the easy laugh. But he seemed to lose control of the timing. He smiled after observing that Iraqis are "paying a serious price" because of terrorism.

[bluedawg12]

16. When watching an actor perform it's fun to watch his craft

and this being a great actor who has read his script so well for 5 years it's interesting to see him loose his timing.

of course it's not about substance, policy, or leadership..so we can't study that.

[Lisa]

27. yes -- this guy is a veritable smorgasbord for character actors

Between this amazing assortment of tics, and the truly nasty little outbursts he has, e.g. during the interview with Carole Coleman -- plus the well-documented malapropisms -- Bush impressions are bound to be a favorite, for years to come. Who could resist hamming it up?

[antonialee839]

17. Any minute now he's gonna break out in a nasty face boil.

:popcorn: I'm sticking around for that!

[NightOwwl]

19. Republicans have a rubble fetish.

"Out of the rubble here on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi is a rebuilding."

"Out of the rubble of Trent Lott's house, he's lost his entire house, there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch."

"I knew my confidence was well placed when I watched him stand on the rubble of the World Trade Center with his arm around a hero of September 11."

Sheesh!

[grannylib]

30. When he talked about Lott's house, he actually said "rubbles," so they

must REALLY like it if it's plural, hee hee! Kind of like the "internets."
What a fuckin' moron.

[merwin]

20. kick

[sofa king]

24. This sure sounds familiar....

Back in the epoch of Bush the Smarter, ca. 1990, the Washington Post ran a very similar article on Poppy's body language and expressions.

Specifically, it went into detail about the two smiles of H. W. B. He had a genuine smile, which came out occasionally, and he had "the grimace," an insincere masque which emerged whenever he was bullshitting.

I remember the article well, because Poppy has had a lot of uncomfortable moments--like, well, whenever he has to deal with other humans he does not personally know. Once you spot "the grimace" it's impossible to ignore it, just like the smirk.

Poppy's been wearing "the grimace" a lot lately, particularly in public with a certain other elder statesman.

[zann725]

25. I counted FOUR jaw twitches...ALL during challenging questions from Matt

n/t

[DearAbby]

29. I had just noticed about myself, When I am driving and I had made

a simple error, like drifting toward the center line and catching myself...I rub the corner of my mouth, it is a tick that I had never noticed before. brought to me attention by Mr Dear.

[cwydro]

32. I've always been a reader

of body language...I think he is so out of his league and knows it. But at the same time, he DOESN"T CARE. I think he is a sociopath...he thinks because he is the POTUS that no one can touch him. He is a dangerous man.