james k. polk, a couple of the biographies come out. you have him down at number 20 right below george h. w. bush. he gets a one in character. >> right. by himself he decided he was going to grab two-thirds of mexico. the was not clear that the other states wanted that. he dated and very -- to he was called opposed to the mendacious he did achieve his goals. >> george w. bush you have in this book. came out recently. you have him ranked tied with jimmy carter. george w. bush, three in character. >> well, maybe as papers come out and we get into his files we will see a little more. the family saga, well, i won't call it palace. teheran the father's mantle. why did he want to be president's? this is all very unclear. i take him at his word that he became the new person after the crisis in his time. but they're also take him at his word that he lost out on a lot. and there's a reason for seeking the presidency. we need to know more about it. a lot of things we don't know. we still don't know how afghanistan is going to turn out. we still d

making five presidential bids, including 1832 against andrew jackson and 1844, when he ran against james k. polk. tonight we are on location in ashland, henry clay's home in lexington, ky. for the next nine minutes, we'll explore the life and legacy of this man, unsuccessful in his long quest for the white house, yet having an outside influence on american history. we are in henry clay's parlor right now. let me introduce you to jim carter, state historian. why henry clay -- why is he relevant to americans living in our time? >> first of all, his famous caveat, i would rather be right than be president, still speaks to us across whatever we are doing, whether we in politics or something else. he also said that politicians need to remember their country and sacrifice for their country. that is still something we need to remember as well. the man known as the great compromiser, the man that forced these compromises that not only kept the country together but were constructed. as well as all the things he did in his life, a clarion call over and over to say to us again and again that we can do a lo

james capel was the first dark horse candidate -- james k. polk was the first dark horse candidate for presidency. clay had been organizing his campaign for two years. the rashid music with clay's picture. -- there was sheet music with clay's picture. there were buttons and metals. the democrats had to attack. they attacked played pretty heavily on all of the issues. the 1844 election with the perfect storm. he wrote to many letters and said to many things on texas annexation, which was a big issue at the time. all of the issues of preventing gambling and carousing came back ever used against clay. i think it is for a combination of things. poult said we needed to annex texas. no. abolitionist opposed to that. clay opposed annexation unlisted to place on a peaceful basis. he went against manifest destiny and the national mood. he wins some votes because of his stand on that as well as loses some votes. there are a whole slew of issues. issues of fraud, bad luck, and things like that. >> you hear a lot about this being an early example of politics

james capel was the first dark horse candidate -- james k. polk was the first dark horse candidate for presidency. he went in hoping to be vice president and well-being the presidential nomination -- presidential nominee. clay had been organizing his campaign for two years. the rashid music with clay's picture. -- there was sheet music with clay's picture. there were buttons and metals. the democrats had to attack. they attacked played pretty -- played pretty -- play heavily on all of the issues. the 1844 election with the perfect storm. he wrote to many letters and said to many things on texas annexation, which was a big issue at the time. all of the issues of preventing gambling and carousing came back ever used against clay. i think it is for a combination of things. poult said we needed to annex texas. no. abolitionist opposed to that. clay opposed annexation unlisted to place on a peaceful basis. he went against manifest destiny and the national mood. i do not think that defeats him vote. he wins some votes because of his stand on that as wel