first of course is chalres guiteau. guiteau was a deeply, it dangerously delusional man but he was very intelligent and highly articulate. if you read nearly any other account of garfield's fascination, guiteau is described as a disgruntled office speaker but that doesn't cover the smallest part of it. he was a uniquely american character. he was the product of this country at that time, a time when there was a lot of play in the -- and there was no one to really understand what he was up to, and hold him to account for it. guiteau was a self-made madman. he was smart and scrappy. he was a clever opportunist and he would probably have been very successful if he hadn't been insane. guiteau had tried everything and he had failed at everything. he had tried law, evangelism, even a free love commune in the 1800's and he had failed even at that. the women in the commune nick named him charles get out. [laughter] but he survived on sheer audacity. he traveled all over the country by train, never bought a ticket. he took great

and guiteau would be waiting. the moment guiteau -- the moment garfield walked into the station that morning, guiteau stepped out of the shadows and shot him twice. the first bullet hit the president in the arm. a second ripped through his back. by an incredible stroke of luck, however, guiteau didn't kill garfield. he only wounded him. the bullet that tore through his back didn't hit his spinal cord, it didn't hit any vital organs. today he would have spent a few nights in the hospital. even if he had just been left alone, he almost certainly would have survived. unfortunately for garfield and the nation, dr. bliss stepped in. bliss took advantage of the fear and the chaos that followed the shooting to assume control of garfield's medical care. but he was not only am wishes and -- ambitious and arrogant, he adhered to the most traditional medical meths of the time. -- methods of the time. bliss gave garfield, a gunshot victim, rich foods and alcohol. he took great satisfaction in this what he called the healthy p