Civil rights bills , unpopular with Southern Democrats , were central to Truman 's Fair Deal . Because Barkley could still appeal to Southern Democrats , Truman asked him to be the keynote speaker at the 1948 Democratic National Convention for an unprecedented third time . Because of the Republican resurgence and Truman 's difficulty appealing to some Democrats , Republican presidential nominee Thomas E. Dewey was expected to win the upcoming presidential election . Democrats were energized by Barkley 's keynote address , which promoted New Deal accomplishments and called the Republican-controlled Eightieth Congress a " do nothing " Congress . He mentioned Truman only once , leading Truman to suspect that Barkley sought to supplant him as the party 's presidential nominee , but no such attempt occurred . Despite these suspicions and his contention that a ticket consisting of a Missourian and a Kentuckian lacked regional geographic balance , convention delegates persuaded Truman to take Barkley as his running mate . Truman had wanted Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas , but Douglas declined
1948 Democratic National Convention
1948 Democratic National Convention
Alben W. Barkley