The Presidents #20: James Garfield

[Ardent15]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Garfield

Discuss him and his brief Presidency.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Shot at the B&O station where the Corcoran gallery now is located, NOT Union Station. nt

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. I think his obsession with lasagna hindered his administration. -nt

[Dr Morbius]

3. He should have survived the bullet.

But no one had thought to make sure the President had competent medical attention. Kind of a tragedy, too. I've read a biography of Garfield, and he was a decent man who probably would have been a fine President for four years had it not been for the unhinged Charles Guiteau.

There's a statue of Garfield in Washington.

[Alexander]

4. He could write in Latin with one hand and Greek with the other.

This was a guy who grew up in abject poverty.

People back then compared him to Lincoln and Washington - even before he was shot.

I think it's a great tragedy that we'll never know what kind of presidency he would've had.

[liberalmuse]

5. I visited his house in Ohio.

It was pretty interesting. That's all I have to contribute to this discussion.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

6. I saw part of Charles Guiteau's brain in Philadelphia

[Phoonzang]

7. He might have been a good president.

Probably the most liberal President of the 19th century actually...

[Faygo Kid]

8. Yes, he held great promise. A decent man who left us too soon.

Arthur is underrated, though.

[Drunken Irishman]

9. A county here in Utah is named after him. As was a school in Salt Lake City.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

10. ...

[The_Commonist]

11. Too bad he didn't live longer...

He was a decent fellow.
He might have been a fine president, given a chance.
He was the only member of the clergy to serve as president.
Didn't have time to accomplish much, a few judicial appointments is about it.

I thought this bit of trivia was interesting - "Garfield is the only person in U.S. history to be a Representative, Senator-elect, and President-elect at the same time. To date, he is the only Representative to be directly elected President of the United States."