Barkley supported William Gibbs McAdoo for president at the 1920 Democratic National Convention , but the nomination went to James M. Cox . He campaigned for Cox and his running mate , Franklin D. Roosevelt , but his speeches focused more on Wilson 's progressive record than Cox 's fitness for office . Republican Warren G. Harding defeated Cox in the general election , and Barkley found common ground with him on issues such as the creation of the Veterans ' Bureau and the passage of the progressive Sheppard – Towner Act . Barkley thought the administration was too favorable to big business interests , however , and in 1922 , he proclaimed that if Harding had returned the country to normalcy , " then in God 's name let us have Abnormalcy "
1920 Democratic National Convention
1920 Democratic National Convention
Alben W. Barkley