[SunkenCiv]

It appears that he took out a pen and pad of paper for notes.

George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

Election 2004 threads on FR

[Izzy Dunne]

It appears that he took out a pen and pad of paper for notes.

Nahh - he was filling out his Form 180 in between questions...

[MississippiMan]

It appears that he took out a pen and pad of paper for notes.

Maybe so, but I think it's a stretch to think he wouldn't know that paper and pen would be provided. And even if he was superstitious about using a certain pen or even paper, the rules state CLEARLY that these items are to be given to the debate officials for inspection, after which THEY will place the items on the podium. I just don't think it's credible that he didn't know that. Also, when you're preparing to take notes, would you want to do so on a piece of paper that had been folded, or on a nice crisp flat sheet?

MM