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b'Dozens of American leaders captured their party\\u2019s nomination for the presidency but never reached the Oval Office. How would history have changed if they had won? If Abraham Lincoln had lost to Stephen Douglas, a pro-slavery Democrat, in 1860, then Emancipation would be the last thing on his mind during the Civil War. If Richard Nixon had defeated JFK in 1960, then the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs Invasion, and Space Race could have also turned out very differently.

To explore these counterfactuals is today\\u2019s guest Peter Shea, author of the book In the Arena: A History of American Presidential Hopefuls. We discuss the rise, early career, campaign, and later achievements of historical giants like Aaron Burr and Henry Clay, up through modern candidates to get insight into what it\\u2019s like to run for one of the most powerful positions in the world \\u2013 and come up short.

In a speech Theodore Roosevelt gave after losing the 1912 presidential election, he assigned ultimate credit \\u201cto the man who is actually in the arena\\u2026who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.\\u201d'