Gov. Bill Richardson - Tourette Syndrome?

I read Betsy's piece about Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson (New Mexico) and his odd habits of touching, poking, pinching, rubbing, and general touching (on odd areas) of people whenever he meets them, or so it seems according to the article Betsy referred to. If that's the case, then it certainly sounds like a type of Tourette Syndrome where Bill Richardson seems he cannot help himself doing those things. Here are some of the symptoms of Tourette Syndrome:

Transient tic disorders often begin during the early school years and can occur in up to 18% of all children. Common tics include eye blinking, nose puckering, grimacing and squinting. Transient vocalizations are less common and include various throat sounds, humming or other noises. Childhood tics may be bizarre - palm licking, poking and/or pinching the genitals are examples. Transient tics last only a few weeks or months and are usually not associated with specific behavioral or school problems. They are especially noticeable during times of heightened excitement or fatigue. As with all tic syndromes, boys are three to four times more often affected than girls. While transient tics by definition do not persist for more than a year, it is not uncommon for a child to have recurrent episodes of transient tics over the course of several years.

Complex motor tics can be virtually any type of movement that the body can produce including gyrating, hopping, clapping, tensing arm or neck muscles, touching people or things and obscene gesturing.

At some point in the continuum of complex motor tics, the term "compulsion" seems appropriate for capturing the organized, ritualistic character of the actions. The need to do and then redo or undo the same action a certain number of times (e.g., to stretch out an arm ten times before writing, to "even up," or to stand up and push a chair into "just the right position") is compulsive in quality and accompanied by considerable internal discomfort. Complex motor tics may greatly impair school work, e.g., when a child must stab at a workbook with a pencil or must go over the same letter so many times that the paper is worn thin. Self-destructive behaviors, such as head banging, eye poking and lip biting also may occur. The distinction between complex tics and compulsions may be a difficult one for the physician to make and some "complex tics" may be alleviated by medications used for obsessive-compulsive
disorder.

The symptoms of TS can be characterized as mild, moderate or severe by their frequency, their complexity and the degree to which they cause impairment or disruption of the patient's ongoing activities and daily life. For example, extremely frequent tics that occur 20-30 times a minute, such as blinking, nodding or arm flexion, may be less disruptive than an infrequent tic that occurs several times an hour, such as loud barking, coprolalic utterance or touching tics. The premonitory sensory urges tend to be present by 9 to 10 years of age. They are most commonly reported in the shoulder girdle, hands, throat and abdomen.

Although some of the symptoms were described for children but it can persist into adulthood. It does describes "touching people" as one of the symptoms. But perhaps Gov. Bill Richardson has a mild enough form of Tourette Syndrome that comes and goes to the point that's barely manageable, much to the staff's irritation? If his behaviors of touching, licking his fingers to smear his glasses lens, poking people and such are enough to irratate his own staff to no end, then it's a sort of compulsion rather than the "I'm just joking." Perhaps a cover-up to disquise Gov. Richardson's unique kind of "tic" that manifest itself as constantly touching people but calls it "joking" or "joshing" around. What sane governor would do this?

Makes you think, doesn't it. I'm no doctor but if it's this bad and its being reported in the news media. Well, it certainly sounds like a type of "tic" which is an uncontrolled obsessive-compulsive behavior and he's trying to deal with it secretly. It may not be the Tourette Syndrome but it does sound like a barely controlled obsessive-compulsive behavior.

I live in New Mexico and so I'll be especially alert to observe Gov. Bill Richardson's behaviors around people whenever the local news makes a story about him on television.

But if he does have a condition or a "tic" then he should just acknowledge it publicly. Can't imagine him being the president of the United States and meet world leaders by pinching and touching them on odd places. The old "Aw, I'm just joking" won't work over there.