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 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 mail 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 moment guiteau -- the moment garfield walked into the station that warning guiteau stepped out of the shadows and shot him twice. the first bullet hit the president in the arm and the second ripped through his back. by an incredible stroke of luck however, guiteau didn't kill garfield. he only wanted him. the bullet that tore through his back didn't hit his spinal cord. it didn't hit any vital organs. today he was -- would spend two nights in a hospital. even if he had been left alone he almost certainly would have survived. fortunately for garfield ann the nation, dr. bliss stepped in. ballistic advantage of the fear in the chaos that followed the shooting to assume control of garfield's medical care. but he was not only ambitious and arrogant, he adhered to the most traditional medical methods of the time. bliss gave garfield a gunshot victim, rich food and alcohol. he took great satisfaction in what he called the healthy issuing from the presidents infected wound and he avoided any treatment he considered to be new and radical, including antisepsis. the renowned producer john j