Richard Moore took a tour of Cherry Hospital Tuesday.
The state treasurer, who is running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, went to the Goldsboro psychiatric institution as part of what he called an effort to educate himself about mental health reform, Michael Biesecker reports.
As Moore and his party entered a psychiatric ward in the facility, a patient dressed in hospital scrubs welcomed the group, admiring their fine clothes.
"Ohhhhhh. Y'all must be doctors!" she exclaimed. "I'm a doctor too!"
Many in the group seemed uncomfortable and unsure of what to say to the woman. After a few long seconds, Moore took the lead. He stepped forward, taking the patient's hand into his.
"Hi, I'm Richard Moore, your state treasurer," he said, smiling warmly.
What happened next, after the jump.
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The woman looked Moore in the eye, squinted, and then jerked her hand from his in apparent horror.
"Bush!" she squealed in revulsion.
Moore turned to the others in the group, some of whom had broken into laughter.
"I don't see the resemblance," he quipped.
A hospital staffer tried to calm the patient down. "He really is the state treasurer," the staffer assured the woman.
The patient did not seem at all sure that her initial identification was incorrect.
"Well then, he is a politician isn't he?" she asked.
