Poor ole Tom George.  He is the Rodney Dangerfield of the GOP contest for governor in that he gets no r-e-s-p-e-c-t.

    Some times reporters leave his name off the list of the five candidates running for the nomination.

    And this past week there was the ultimate  insult. He was unceremoniously dumped from a debate because the sponsor wanted more time for the other four contenders.

    The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance run by former GOP right-winger Leon Drolet was picked by the state Republican Party to organize a debate for the party's leadership confab later this month.

    After first being invited, George was notified that because there was only an hour allotted for the exchange, he was being asked to drop out.

     George rightfully came unglued and two of his opponents came to his defense.  Congressman Peter Hoekstra and Ann Arbor business guy Rick Snyder complained to the GOP chairman.

     What kind of democracy is this, they wondered?

     To his credit chairman Ron Weiser came to his senses and when the dust settled George, the Kalamazoo state senator, was back on the stage with everyone else.

     The reason George is having a tough time is that he's virtually unknown, has no real base of support on which to build a campaign, and he's not likely to raise millions of dollars to lend credibility to his effort.  But this is  not to say he's not a good candidate because he is.  He has a firm grasp of the issues, has a solid record in the Michigan Senate and is not a conservative nut case.  In other words , he deserves respect but his chances of winning are right down there with the Lions.

    But all is not lost. Assuming he does not pull off a miracle and gain the GOP nomination, he is effectively auditioning for the second spot on the ticket, which ain't all bad for a guy who is being treated like Rodney D.