George McGovern: Not Invited to the Party He Created

George McGovern occupies a special spot in the pantheon of Democratic Party leaders. More than any one person alive today, he's the father of the party as we've known it in recent years. It's because of his leadership that the party transitioned from machine politics to one structured on gender and race. As co-chairman of the McGovern-Fraser Commission, Senator McGovern wrote the rules under which the party operates today, everything from delegate selection quotas to encouraging the shift from closed door caucuses to open primaries.

Not only a long-serving member of Congress and U. S. Senator, George McGovern is a true hero of World War II, where he flew 35 bomber missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, an award he shares with John McCain.

I've met George McGovern and while we agree on little, he is a gracious and thoughtful man who, as he says, learned more from running a little inn in New England than he ever did in the halls of the capitol.

And, oh, by the way, George McGovern also served his party as its nominee for President in 1972.

You'd think that all of that would be enough to get him into the Democratic National Convention, but that's not the way it is. On Tuesday, George McGovern learned that he wasn't credentialed to attend the meeting.

It seems Barack Obama's party has a short memory.

It was Fox News that saved the day and arranged for George McGovern to attend the party one more time.