since the u.s. constitution limits the president to two terms and vice president dick cheney did not seek the presidency, the 2008 election was the first election in which neither the sitting president nor the sitting vice president sought his party's nomination since 1928 (when neither the sitting president, calvin coolidge, nor the sitting vice president, charles g. dawes, chose to seek the presidency) and the first since 1952 where neither the sitting president nor sitting vice president received his party's nomination (when the sitting president, harry s. truman, chose not to seek reelection and the sitting vice president, alben barkley, lost the democratic nomination to adlai stevenson). with the exception of the 1964 convention, which nominated barry goldwater for president and william e. miller for vice-president, this was the first convention since 1948 not to feature a man named either nixon, dole or bush on the ticket.