Why Did James Garfield Hate Being President?

David Senra says James Garfield hated being president because office seekers filled his days, while the work he wanted was to sit in the Library of Congress and read. Senra thinks Garfield spent 17 years in Congress before the presidency.

The office was one he did not seek and did not want. He never rose to the bait and was incapable of carrying a grudge, a trait neither Conkling nor Blaine understood. He called himself a poor hater, but he was a very good fighter and had never walked away from a fight. He wrote that he detested war, yet if it was brought to his door, the bringer would find him at home. The librarian of the Library of Congress, who knew him well, ranked him among the most diligent researchers he had ever met. Garfield resolved, if possible, to save his children from being injured by his presidency.

Time to read and think had become untenable. After a day spent wrestling with office seekers, he wrote, My God, what is there in the place that a man should ever want to get into? People who prowled the halls of the White House searching for a job sounded like beasts at feeding time. They would take his brains, flesh, and blood if they could.