"I would rather be right than be president!" Henry Clay (1777-1852) thundered near the end of his life. The record suggests otherwise. A constant candidate who won presidential nomination three times (in 1824, 1832 and 1844), Clay's ambitions for America's highest office were obvious, undisguised, overweening. His formidable accomplishments as a statesman (Speaker of the House, Senator from Kentucky, Secretary of State) are blotted by his presidential failure.In a less reflective mood, Clay proclaimed "My friends are not worth ...