The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-09-11
MR.. CLAY AND THE PRESIDENCY.

From very early period OF ms pohticai u"
reer, Mr.. Clay seems TO have fixed his eye on
the Presidential chair as The goal which ne ae-
sired, and expected ultimately to attaln'-
Some men have been found sufficiently uhire-
tending and patriotic as 10 rest satisfied wan
the good which their talents and energies could
effect in the situation TO which they may have
been elevated by the spontaneous choice oil the
People, without raising their aspirations any
higher-others have thought not OF the Pres'-
dency until the gradual progression OF promo
ton and widely disseminated popularity have
almost placed it within their erasp-when The
expectation Of being elevated TO the highest OIL
flee ia the gift of the People has been the sug-
pestion OF circumstances not the creation OF
their selfish ambition. Not SO Mr.. Clay. When
yet the years he numbered We're barely suiil-
cent to qualify him for a seat in the Senate OF
ihe'Unied States, and he could, almost with
out suspicion, pretend TO the innocence OF no
vice in political intrigue, he extended his vision
through the long vista Of party turmoil and rev.
olution before him, and intenlly scanned the
whole scene, that he might discover in turn all
the torIuosities and difficulties of the path which
led to the coveted prize beyond. To attain It,
every faculty, every energy has been nerved
every plan and every scheme has been employed,
till the age of 10 has overaken HMM vain lie
has figured among statesmen in originating and
supporting measures deeply affecting the inte-
rests Of the country whether for veal or for
woe-it was with expectation Of the Presiden-
cy. He has figured among partisans and IN
,rgued among politicians-it was with expecta-
ton Of the Presidency. He has poured his flu
ent strains of deliberaIvc .loquence in The Cap
ilol-it was with expectation OF the Presidency.
He speechifed at dinners and on the stump-it
was with expectation Of the Presidency. He
has promulgated opinions and condemned them
he has joined parties and forsaken them--he
has supported friends and abandoned lhem-it
was all with expectation Of the Presidency
Amid every change of political opinion in him
self-amid every revolution OF party-whether
he was Representative, Senator, Commissioner
in foreign country, or quilted his popular posi-
ton to become Secretary of State, he never lost
sight Of the one great object-the Presidency.
As soon as he thought his arrangements made,
his forces prepared, and the plan Of campaign
complete, he catered the field, and he was de-
feated. Again defeated in open warfare, he
experienced, in 1889, the additional degradation
and disappointment Of being rejected by his
own friends. Vexed and harassed by retera-
lion Of defeat, where stands he now Upheld
few desperate friends, he affects the modesty
of retirement, while he promises indirectly a
renewal Of the contest. Directly, he promises
no such thing but in the morbid peevishuess
Of frustrated ambition, 1--WE will not quote an
old and familiar adage,) he assails personally,
as well as politically, one whose position he en-
vles, because he has, by long reveries on his
own aspirations, persuaded himself that he
should be there himself. But where is he now7
AT every struggle he is sinking farther rnd
farther from the object he wishes TO grasp
Are his hopes OF the Presidency brighrer7 His
most sanguine friends cannot confidently make
the assertion. He has met the punishment
which usually attends a constant tissue Of in
trigue. The calculations Of his cunning have
deceived him, and he is farther from the Presi-
dency than ever.
Yes, farther than ever. When he BETRAYED
the President, and declared himself in favor Of
National Bank. contrary to the professions Of
the party in ls40 and so far succeeded in his
per6dy as TO obtain the leadership OF the Wing
party after the vetoes-fhen, or up to that peri
cd, the Wing party held Nineteen Of the States
by decided msjorilies. Under Mr.. Clay's lead,
and with his name as the candidate for 1914, in
less than two years, the Wings have lost pos
session of all the States butfive or six. This is
incontrovertible, and will not be denied By any
sane Clay man.