Rawhide Down_ The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan - Del Quentin Wilber [137]
Fielding had obtained the presidential succession: Interview with Fielding; Allen tapes; Darman, Who’s In Control?, p. 53; copies of succession letters, RRPL.
In Darman’s view: Darman, Who’s In Control?, p. 53.
in his view, Fielding: Interview with Baker.
Don Regan, the: Regan memo; Regan, For the Record, p. 187. Word of Brady’s death quickly spread from the Situation Room to Capitol Hill, where reporters learned about it. Within minutes, all three major networks were erroneously reporting that Brady had died. Max Friedersdorf, Reagan’s congressional liaison, describes the sequence of events in an oral history with the Miller Center (October 2002).
Kobrine told them: Dr. Michael Manganiello, an opthalmologist who assisted in the care of Brady and Reagan, vividly recalls this moment. Kobrine, who has a reputation for fiery language, said that he does not dispute Manganiello’s version of events.
shaved the press secretary’s head: Interviews with Kobrine, Dr. Ed Engle, and Dr. Roderick Clemente.
“Those fuckers,” Kobrine said: Interviews with Manganiello and Kobrine.
At 5:25 p.m., a radiology technician: Anesthesia record.
David Gens trailed the technician: Interview with Gens.
Aaron studied the image: Interview with Aaron.
Thinking about why: Interviews with Aaron and Cheyney; Aaron reflection.
a No. 15 blade: Interview with Aaron.
It was 5:40 p.m.: In a Secret Service report, an agent reported that Aaron retrieved the bullet at 5:40 p.m. and placed it in a cup. The cup was marked with the words, “Taken from President Reagan 3-30-1981 by Dr. (redacted) at 5:40 p.m.” The FBI reported that the bullet was removed “at approximately 5:39 p.m.”
14: The Waiting Room
While awaiting further: Nancy Reagan, My Turn, p. 7; interview with Opfer.
Then all three major networks: I watched news coverage recorded by Bob Parker, a former CNN producer who provided me with a DVD of the broadcasts. There is also a wealth of the day’s news coverage on the Internet.
He warned her: Interview with Opfer; Nancy Reagan, My Turn, p. 8.
“That thing is out of control”: Deaver transcript; interview with Baker. Deaver later wrote in Behind the Scenes (pp. 29–30) that Haig’s performance “did not exactly inspire confidence” and that the secretary of state looked “like a man about to crack.” Deaver added that Haig’s assertion that he was in control “at that moment seemed inappropriate.”
Nofziger turned back to the podium: Nofziger, Nofziger, p. 294; Nofziger notes. The political aide’s notes list all of Reagan’s lines and quips from the time he entered the ER until he was operated on. Nofziger died in 2006. In his autobiography, he described the importance of Reagan’s jokes and one-liners to the country (p. 295): “These lines assured the nation that the president was going to be all right. They also said that here was a most unusual man, what Americans like to think they’re all about, a swashbuckling people who laugh in the face of death and don’t shrink from the teeth of danger.… Here was a man who for years had talked the good fight to all Americans, but none of them knew how he would react to the blows—until now—and now his courage made all but the most bitter Reagan haters proud to be Americans.”
remove the entire lower: Interview with Aaron.
before six p.m.: OR circulating record. The precise time was 5:50 p.m.
She and a colleague: Interview with Lula Gore.
it had been a rough few hours: Discharge summary; Gens notes; anesthesia record. Reagan did not receive any whole blood during surgery. Blood banks typically break donated blood into its key components—red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. Reagan received about eight units of red blood cells. He received three units of plasma and one pack of platelets. Both of those components promote blood clotting.
Still, the three-hour operation: The OR circulating record shows that Giordano began the belly tap at 3:26, and Aaron began closing up the chest incision at 5:50, and that surgery was concluded at