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were those who said he'd be good, but he certainly wouldn't have been good. You couldn't have campaigned with him and he wouldn't have been nominated. There would have been a great opposition to him from some parts of the Democratic Party throughout the country. I saw no likely head who had both political experience, administrative experience enough, so that you could say, “I know this man can do it, because look what he has done,” and who had the qualities of character, insight and temperamental adaptability to be President.
I, at that time, thought that Henry Wallace had in him the makings of Presidential timber, but I certainly thought that he wasn't well enough known and hadn't had enough political experience. I used to think, in thinking way ahead, that Roosevelt would be through some time and who was there younger coming on? Certainly, Henry Wallace was among those that I would have thought of.
From time to time I said something to the President like, “Next year we'll push that piece of legislation.” He would laugh often and say, “Well, you know I won't be here. How do you know that we'll be around?” He said that laughingly and I never paid much attention to it.
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