As hard as it is to imagine right now, the 2012 presidential election will one day end. When it does, we will finally have a winner — and a loser. One candidate will call the other to offer congratulations; then he will stand before his supporters and publicly concede victory. As confetti falls on the newly elected leader of the free world, his former opponent will go home and begin thinking about what to do next.
Inevitably, whether for incumbent Barack Obama or his challenger, that moment of defeat will be an excruciating one. But whoever ends up having to endure it will be able to take comfort in the fact that he is joining a long tradition — a club, you might say — of hyper-ambitious individuals who share the rare experience of having been thwarted in their pursuit of the most powerful office in the land. And while it may seem like a dubious fraternity, a look back at presidential also-rans in American history reveals just how important and influential its members can end up being.
