Discussion: Third Woman Accuses President George H.W. Bush Of Groping During Photo Op

ā€œDavid Cop-a-feel!ā€ he said as he squeezed her behind and the photographer took the photo, she said, repeating the same joke that at least two other women have said he used when he groped them.

Seriously, how crude can you be?

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George H.W. Bush has probably been doing this his whole life and getting away with it, and he is surrounded by enablers now who are trying to excuse it due to his age. Iā€™ve seen comments on other websites saying that inappropriate sexual comments and touching can be a sign of dementia, but come on - he made the same ā€œDavid Cop-a-feelā€ joke to each of his victims. He knew what he was doing.

Good for these women in coming forward and warning other women not to get within a yard of his wheelchair. Heā€™s not going to stop grabbing asses until heā€™s cold in the ground.

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I have no doubt it happened. I just donā€™t get it. He needs to dominate these women? Power? A sexual thrill?

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Yes.

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He is 93 and has had a few strokes.

Guys, I am not a Bush apologist, or a groper apologist. My wife and are therapists (OT and Speech) and work with the elderly population.

After a traumatic brain injury men (I donā€™t recall this symptom in women) men can develop ā€œHyper-sexuality Behaviorsā€

Abstract
Hypersexual behaviour is a recognized complication of head injuries which can be a source of great distress to patients and persons with whom these patients share significant relationships. In this article, we describe 5 patients who exhibited aberrant sexual behaviours following traumatic brain injury and discuss the relevant literature.

I have no idea if he has been doing this his entire life or it could just be a symptom of the trauma he suffered during his stroke. We see it so often in head injuries and strokes that is theory in the same way gravity is a theory.

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So, heā€™s really probably sort of incompetent at this point. Youā€™re not going to get a judgement against him, so why not just shut the fuck up about it.

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So, if you canā€™t understand that heā€™s senile then I donā€™t know what else to tell you.

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@matthew_tanner
@sampson5672

If this is an age-related or stroke-related mental issue, then the people around him should be protecting women from him.

There is no excuse for this.

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I totally agree. If they know he is getting handsy they should be gently correcting him and not putting him in these situations. Like instead of standing him next to a woman they surround him with family during these pictures.

My guess is they are embarrassed but unaware that it is a thing. If I was his therapist I would include that in family member education.

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Exactly. Keep him away from women then if heā€™s a dotard like Trump. Is that so hard there Matty?

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Now that my mother is in assisted living I have gotten to know some of the residents and their families there. There are a few residents who suffer from this sort of thing. Their families are mortified, and in each case, it seems to be completely out of character from the men they once were. All the ladies in the building know what is going on and know to avoid them. While we can never be 100% certain, I think the fact that this hasnā€™t come up at all until he was 93 suggests former President Bush falls in this category. Thatā€™s not to say it still isnā€™t horrifying for the women heā€™s groped.

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It really disturbs me the way, in each case, his family and handlers seem to hold the victim responsible.

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It is not OK for any person to be groped against her/his will.

@sampson5672
And there is nothing ā€˜good-naturedā€™ about the family allowing it to happen. Barbara Bushā€™s response of ā€œnot againā€ to the second woman who came forward indicates they knew about the pattern and kept enabling it, with no apologies to those who were groped.

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Mostly upset with his family and handlers. They need to apologize. Letā€™s start with Babs.

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I have not followed the situation very closely. If that was her response then she seems pretty clueless. It kind of doesnā€™t surprise me. These folks only seem to learn when it affects them personally.

I am sure (or hope) someone is educating them now.

Yes, it is horrifying for the women involved and they should not be blamed.

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Would be pretty rich for Tina and Amy to do something on this. Risky but all great comedic art is.

At some point, I just donā€™t want to live on this planet anymore.

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I donā€™t know that grabbing womenā€™s behinds is out of character for George H.W. Bush. I remember reading in Vanity Fair back in 1990 that he was quite a flirt, and more damaging, that there were quite a few stories about affairs he had had. My guess is that heā€™s a privileged preppie boy whoā€™s been able to get away with quite a lot because he played the courtly gentleman in public and, of course, because he had a lot of power.

Iā€™ve seen your responses on other posts and think youā€™re a troll.

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