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Gravel was born on May 13, 1930 in Springfield, Massachusetts, one of five children of French-Canadian immigrant parents, Alphonse and Marie (née Bourassa) Gravel.<ref>[http://www.wargs.com/political/gravel.html Mike Gravel genealogy], Wargs.</ref><ref name="cby-182">''Current Biography Yearbook 1972'', p. 182.</ref><ref name="gravel-70">Gravel and Lauria, ''A Political Odyssey'', pp. 69–70.</ref>
Gravel was born on May 13, 1930 in Springfield, Massachusetts, one of five children of French-Canadian immigrant parents, Alphonse and Marie (née Bourassa) Gravel.<ref>[http://www.wargs.com/political/gravel.html Mike Gravel genealogy], Wargs.</ref><ref name="cby-182">''Current Biography Yearbook 1972'', p. 182.</ref><ref name="gravel-70">Gravel and Lauria, ''A Political Odyssey'', pp. 69–70.</ref>


Gravel "decided to become a pioneer in a faraway place,"<ref name="nyt022776" /> and moved to pre-statehood Alaska in August 1956, without funds or a job, looking for a place where someone without social or political connections could be a viable candidate for public office.<ref name="wapo090907" /><ref name="salon050707" /> Alaska's voting age of 19, less than most other states' 21, played a role in his decision,<ref name="nyt070271">{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F20D10FD3A5B1A7493C0A9178CD85F458785F9 |title=Impetuous Senator: Maurice Robert Gravel |author=Warren Weaver, Jr. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 2, 1971 |access-date=December 24, 2007 |format=fee required}}</ref> as did its newness<ref name="wapo090907" /> and cooler climate.<ref name="salon050707" />
Gravel "decided to become a pioneer in a faraway place,"<ref name="nyt022776">{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F30E14F83A58167493C5AB1789D85F428785F9|title=Senators From Hinterlands Recall Early Years in City; U.S. Senators Recall Their Early Years in City|author=Martin Tolchin|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 27, 1976 |accessdate=December 11, 2007|format=fee required}}</ref> and moved to pre-statehood Alaska in August 1956, without funds or a job, looking for a place where someone without social or political connections could be a viable candidate for public office.<ref name="wapo090907">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090401794.html?sid=ST2007101600688|title=Last|author=Leahy, Michael|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 9, 2007|access-date=December 20, 2007}}</ref><ref name="salon050707">{{cite web |author=Alex Koppelman |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/05/07/mike_gravel/index.html |title=Don't worry, be Mike Gravel |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627105316/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/05/07/mike_gravel/index.html |archive-date=June 27, 2009 |website=salon.com |date=May 7, 2007 |access-date=July 4, 2007}}</ref> Alaska's voting age of 19, less than most other states' 21, played a role in his decision,<ref name="nyt070271">{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F20D10FD3A5B1A7493C0A9178CD85F458785F9 |title=Impetuous Senator: Maurice Robert Gravel |author=Warren Weaver, Jr. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 2, 1971 |access-date=December 24, 2007 |format=fee required}}</ref> as did its newness<ref name="wapo090907" /> and cooler climate.<ref name="salon050707" /> Seeing Alaska as a wide-open place with no political establishment or entrenched interests,<ref name="odyssey-136">Gravel and Lauria, ''A Political Odyssey'', p. 136.</ref> Gravel quickly became part of the civic scene there.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/10383606/?terms=%22mike%2Bgravel%22 |title=Democrats Plan Two-Day Drive For Campaign |newspaper=Fairbanks News-Miner |date=October 7, 1957 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref><ref name="fnm-statehood">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/11709894/?terms=%22mike%2Bgravel%22 |title=Alaskan Young Demo Tells Conference Statehood Views |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Fairbanks News-Miner |date=June 23, 1958 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref>
 
Seeing Alaska as a wide-open place with no political establishment or entrenched interests,<ref name="odyssey-136" /> Gravel quickly became part of the civic scene there.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/10383606/?terms=%22mike%2Bgravel%22 |title=Democrats Plan Two-Day Drive For Campaign |newspaper=[[Fairbanks News-Miner]] |date=October 7, 1957 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref><ref name="fnm-statehood">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/11709894/?terms=%22mike%2Bgravel%22 |title=Alaskan Young Demo Tells Conference Statehood Views |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Fairbanks News-Miner |date=June 23, 1958 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref>
 
By early 1958, Gravel was running as Democratic Party primary candidate for a Third Division seat in House of Representative of the territorial legislature<ref name="fdnm-feb58">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/4530775 |title=Total of 30 Candidates File For Fourth Division Seats |newspaper=Fairbanks News-Miner |date=February 3, 1958 |pages=1, 3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref> (this was one of the four judicial divisions into which Alaska was sectioned at the time).  Using the slogan "Gravel, the Roadbed to Prosperity", he ran but lost.<ref name="salon050707" /><ref name="odyssey-136">Gravel and Lauria, ''A Political Odyssey'', p. 136.</ref>  At the same time, he was also an advocate for Alaskan statehood.<ref name="fnm-statehood" />


== 2008 presidential campaign ==
== 2008 presidential campaign ==
=== Democratic Party primaries ===
[[File:Mgravelgrandpa.jpg|thumb|left|Mike Gravel at the launch of his Presidential campaign in April 2006]]
On April 17, 2006,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01EED8173FF93BA25757C0A9609C8B63 |title=Washington: A 'Maverick' For President |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 18, 2006 |access-date=December 24, 2007}}</ref> Gravel became the first candidate for the [[Potential Democratic candidates in the 2008 U.S. presidential election|Democratic nomination]] for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 election]], announcing his run in a speech to the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] Short on campaign cash, he took [[public transportation]] to get to his announcement.<ref>{{cite news |author=Elliot, Philip |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-122070086.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511205241/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-122070086.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |title=Ex-Alaska Sen. Gravel Runs for President |agency=Associated Press |date=April 17, 2006 |access-date=August 28, 2010 |format=fee required}}</ref> (Gravel called for [[public financing of elections]].<ref name="Q&A">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/10/01/DI2007100101475.html The Candidates: Sen. Mike Gravel: Democratic Candidate for President, Former U.S. Sen. (D-Alaska)], ''Washington Post'' (October 16, 2007).</ref>) Other principal Gravel positions were the [[FairTax]], [[Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (2007–2011)|withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq]] within 120 days, a [[single-payer health care|single payer national health care system]], and [[term limits]].
Gravel had opposed the [[Iraq War]] from the beginning,<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial">[http://new.mikegravel.us/issues How Mike Stands on the Issues] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917034549/http://new.mikegravel.us/issues |date=September 17, 2016 }}, MikeGravel.us (accessed September 7, 2016).</ref> and in 2006 said that U.S. troops in Iraq, as in Vietnam, had "died in vain".<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="Kim" /> He also favored a regional peace initiative, as well as [[reparations (transitional justice)|reparation payments]] for Iraqis.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" /> Gravel also called for a "U.S. corporate withdrawal from Iraq", with reconstruction contracts held by U.S. companies to be turned over to Iraqi firms.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="GravelOfficial" />
Gravel campaigned almost full-time in [[New Hampshire]], [[New Hampshire primary|the first primary state]], following his announcement. [[Opinion polling for the Democratic Party (United States) 2008 presidential candidates|Opinion polls of contenders for the Democratic nomination]] showed Gravel with 1&nbsp;percent or less support. By the end of March 2007, Gravel's campaign had less than $500 in cash on hand against debts of nearly $90,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00423202/285065/ |title=FEC Form 3P for Mike Gravel |publisher=[[Federal Election Commission]] |date=April 15, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120021914/http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00423202/285065/ |archive-date=November 20, 2008}}</ref>
[[File:YearlyKos 2007 (1046567384) (croppeda).jpg|thumb|right|Gravel (far left) at an August 2007 candidates' forum; frontrunners Edwards, Clinton, and Obama are to the immediate right of the moderator]]
Because of his time in the Senate, Gravel was invited to many of the early Democratic presidential debates. During the initial one at [[South Carolina State University]] on April 26, 2007, he suggested a bill requiring the president to withdraw from Iraq on pain of criminal penalties. He also advocated positions such as opposing preemptive [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]]. He stated that the [[Iraq War]] had the effect of creating more terrorists and that the "war was lost the day that George Bush invaded Iraq on a fraudulent basis."<ref name="abc042607" /> Regarding his fellow candidates, he said, "I got to tell you, after standing up with them, some of these people frighten me – they frighten me."<ref name="abc042607">[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3086826 No Breakout Candidate at Democratic Debate], [[ABC News]], April 26, 2007</ref> Media stories said that Gravel was responsible for much of whatever "heat" and "flashpoints" had taken place.<ref name="abc042607" /><ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1713018.ece "Clinton edges ahead after first Democratic debate"], ''[[The Times]]'', April 27, 2007.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uselections08/story/0,2066862,00.html Hillary Clinton shines in Democratic candidates' debate], Ewen MacAskill, ''[[The Guardian]]'', April 27, 2007.</ref> Gravel gained considerable publicity by shaking up the normally staid multiple-candidate format; ''[[The New York Times]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> media critic said that what Gravel had done was "steal a debate with outrageous, curmudgeonly statements."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/us/politics/04tvwatch.html |title=A Show Where Candidates Are More Prop Than Player |author=Alessandra Stanley |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 4, 2007 |access-date=December 28, 2007}}</ref> The Internet was a benefit: a YouTube video of his responses in the debate was viewed more than 225,892 times, ranking seventeenth in most views for week and first among news and politics clips; The YouTube debate clip was also ranked #7 top rated (for week), #23 top favored (for week), #25 most discussed (for week), #4 most linked (for week), and #1 top rated – news and politics (for week).</ref> his name became the fifteenth most searched-for in the blogosphere;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/04/mike_gravel_soo.html |title=Mike Gravel, soon to be a household name |author=Mark Memmott, Jill Lawrence |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=April 30, 2007 |access-date=December 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024150656/http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/04/mike_gravel_soo.html |archive-date=October 24, 2007}}</ref> and his website garnered more traffic than those of frontrunners [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Barack Obama]], or [[John Edwards]].<ref name="salon050707" /> Gravel appeared on the popular ''[[Colbert Report]]'' on television on May 2,<ref name="salon050707" /> and his campaign and career were profiled in national publications such as ''[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]''.<ref name="salon050707" /> Two wordless, [[Andy Warhol|Warholesque]] campaign videos, "Rock" and "Fire", were released on YouTube in late May and became hits,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/18/mike-gravel-behind-the-music/ |title=Mike Gravel: Behind the Music |author=Lisa Tozzi |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 18, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref> and eventually gained over 760,000 and 185,000 views respectively.<ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rZdAB4V_j8 | title=Mike Gravel – Rock |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=May 27, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRwizmuCnOw | title=Mike Gravel – Fire |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=May 28, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref> "Rock," in turn, was given airtime during an episode of ''[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]]''. Some thirty-five years after he first achieved the national spotlight, he had found it again.
[[File:Mike Gravel for President 2008 fundraising.png|thumb|left|Gravel's fundraising efforts for the first three quarters of 2007.]]
All this did not improve his performance in the polls; a May 2007 [[CNN]] poll showed him with less than 0.5 percent support among Democrats.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/07/schneider.2008.polls/index.html |title=Poll: Liberals moving toward Clinton; GOP race tightens |author=Bill Schneider |publisher=[[CNN.com]] |date=May 7, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |authorlink=Bill Schneider (journalist)}}</ref> Gravel was in the next several debates, in one case after [[CNN]] reversed a decision to exclude him.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/?q=node/471 |title=Gravel Dismisses CNN, WMUR-TV And Union Leader Statement |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=March 19, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227034815/http://www.gravel2008.us/?q=node%2F471 |archive-date=December 27, 2007}}</ref> Like some of the other second-tier candidates, Gravel did not get as much time as the leaders; during the June 2, 2007, [[New Hampshire]] debate, which lasted two hours, he was asked 10 questions and allowed to speak for five minutes and 37 seconds.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/?q=node/1360 |title=The Mainstream Media Has Gone Underground ... |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=June 5, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115074223/http://www.gravel2008.us/?q=node%2F1360 |archive-date=January 15, 2008}}</ref>
During the July 23, 2007, [[CNN-YouTube presidential debate]], Gravel responded to audience applause when he had complained of a lack of airtime and said: "Thank you. Has it been fair thus far?"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html |title=Part I: CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate transcript |publisher=[[CNN.com]] |date=July 24, 2007 |access-date=December 28, 2007}}</ref> Detractors began to liken him to "the cranky uncle who lives in the attic,"<ref name="bsun010708">{{cite news |url=http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/01/mike_gravel_tells_teens_do_pot.html |title=Mike Gravel to teens: Say 'yes' to drugs |author=Rick Pearson |newspaper=[[Baltimore Sun]] |date=January 7, 2008 |access-date=January 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109142954/http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/01/mike_gravel_tells_teens_do_pot.html |archive-date=January 9, 2008}}</ref> or "the angry old guy that just seemed to want to become angrier."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8043044 |title=Democratic hopeful Gravel visits Park City |author=Dan Harrie |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |date=January 22, 2008 |access-date=February 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204231107/http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8043044 |archive-date=February 4, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Berkeley political scientist David Terr found that moderator [[George Stephanopoulos]] directed roughly five percent of his questions to Gravel;<ref>{{cite news |title=ABC News Debate – Unfair for Kucinich and Gravel |url=http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/articles/dennis-kucinich-mike-gravel-unequal-time-abc-debate.html |publisher=USA Election Polls |date=August 23, 2007 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103025255/http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/articles/dennis-kucinich-mike-gravel-unequal-time-abc-debate.html |archive-date=November 3, 2008}}</ref> in a poll asking who did the best in the debate, Gravel placed seventh among the eight candidates.<ref name="ABC News Poll">[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Decision2008/popup?id=3493427 "ABC News Poll"] August 19, 2007, [http://www.abcnews.com/ ABC News]</ref> [[Opinion polling for the Democratic Party (United States) 2008 presidential candidates|National opinion polls of contenders for the Democratic nomination]] continued to show Gravel with one percent or zero percent numbers. By the end of the third-quarter 2007, Gravel had about $17,500 in cash on hand, had collected a total of about $380,000 during the 2008 election cycle,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://query.nictusa.com/pres/2007/Q3/C00423202.html |title=Report for Mike Gravel for President 2008 |publisher=[[Federal Election Commission]] |date=October 17, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112090453/http://query.nictusa.com/pres/2007/Q3/C00423202.html |archive-date=November 12, 2007}}</ref> and was continuing to run a threadbare campaign with minimal staff.<ref name="wapo090907" />
[[File:Mikegravelmanchester.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Gravel in [[Manchester, New Hampshire]] on January 6, 2008, two days before the [[New Hampshire Democratic primary, 2008|state's Democratic primary]].]]
Beginning with the October 30, 2007, [[Philadelphia]] event, Gravel was excluded from most of the debates, with the debate sponsors or the [[Democratic National Committee]] saying Gravel's campaign had not met fund-raising, polling, or local campaign organizational thresholds.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21548813 |title=Democratic rivals target Clinton's vote on Iran |author=Alex Johnson |publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=October 31, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2007/nov/07/110710306.html |title=CNN keeps Gravel out of Democratic debate in Las Vegas |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[Las Vegas Sun]] |date=November 7, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110133508/http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2007/nov/07/110710306.html |archive-date=January 10, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/kucinich-booted-from-iowa-debate-2007-12-12.html |title=Kucinich booted from Iowa debate |publisher=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |date=December 12, 2007 |access-date=December 14, 2007}}</ref> For the Philadelphia exclusion, Gravel blamed [[corporate censorship]] on the part of sponsor owner and alleged [[military-industrial complex]] member [[General Electric]] for his exclusion<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/?q=node/2510 |title=Corporate Censorship! |author=Mike Gravel |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=October 30, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080114224539/http://www.gravel2008.us/?q=node%2F2510 |archive-date=January 14, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/gravel-vs-msnbc/ |title=Gravel vs. MSNBC |author=Sarah Wheaton |date=October 30, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and mounted a counter-gathering and debate against a video screen a short distance away,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20071030_Democratic_debate_starts_at_9.html |title=The debate is on. Here. Tonight |author=Larry Eichel |publisher=philly.com |date=October 30, 2007 |access-date=December 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107011630/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20071030_Democratic_debate_starts_at_9.html |archive-date=January 7, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> but he had lost his easiest publicity. In reaction, supporters organized "[[mass donation day]]s" to try to help the campaign gain momentum and funds, such as on December 5, 2007, the anniversary of the [[Repeal of Prohibition]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thepresidentialcandidates.us/2007/12/december-5-is-mass-donation-day-for.html |title=December 5 Is "Mass Donation Day" For Mike Gravel |publisher=The Presidential Candidates |date=December 4, 2007 |access-date=January 4, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120917144440/http://www.thepresidentialcandidates.us/2007/12/december-5-is-mass-donation-day-for.html |archive-date=September 17, 2012}}</ref>
Gravel did not compete in the initial 2008 vote, [[Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2008|the Iowa caucuses]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7572270 |title=Second-Tier Dems Hope for Caucus Boost |publisher=[[WHO-TV]] |date=January 3, 2008 |access-date=January 4, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112125548/http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7572270 |archive-date=January 12, 2008}}</ref> but was still subjected to a false report from [[MSNBC]] that he had pulled out of the race afterward.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/content/were-still-race |title=We're Still in the Race! |author=J. Skyler McKinley |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=January 4, 2008 |access-date=January 4, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105000811/http://www.gravel2008.us/content/were-still-race |archive-date=January 5, 2008}}</ref> Gravel did focus his attention on the second 2008 vote, the [[New Hampshire Democratic primary, 2008|New Hampshire primary]]. There he received about 400 votes out of some 280,000 cast, or 0.14&nbsp;percent,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#NH |title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for New Hampshire |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=January 9, 2008 |access-date=January 9, 2008}}</ref> before taking time off to improve his health.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/08/former_alaska_senator_to_keep_campaigning/?rss_id=Boston.com%20--%20Top%20political%20stories |title=Mike Gravel to campaign on |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=January 8, 2008 |access-date=January 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105161721/http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/08/former_alaska_senator_to_keep_campaigning/?rss_id=Boston.com%20--%20Top%20political%20stories |archive-date=January 5, 2009}}</ref> He resumed campaigning, but fared no better in subsequent states. By the end of January 2008, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Gravel were the only remaining Democrats from the initial debates still running;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailycal.org/article/100285/candidate_speaks_to_political_science_class |title=Candidate Speaks to Political Science Class |author=Sarah Morrison |newspaper=[[The Daily Californian]] |date=February 7, 2008 |access-date=February 7, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217131639/http://www.dailycal.org/article/100285/candidate_speaks_to_political_science_class |archive-date=February 17, 2008}}</ref> Gravel vowed to stay in the presidential campaign until November.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/23498 |title=Gravel urges direct democracy at YPU |author=Isaac Arnsdorf |newspaper=[[Yale Daily News]] |date=February 13, 2008 |access-date=February 15, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216102926/http://yaledailynews.com/articles/view/23498 |archive-date=February 16, 2008}}</ref><ref name="time030408">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1719305,00.html |title=The Third Democrat in the Race |author=[[Joel Stein]] |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=March 4, 2008 |access-date=March 9, 2008}}</ref> On March 11, 2008, Gravel continued to remain in the Democratic race but additionally endorsed a [[Green Party (United States)|Green Party]] candidate for president, [[Jesse Johnson (West Virginia politician)|Jesse Johnson]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/03/11/mike-gravel-endorses-jesse-johnson-green-party-for-president/ |title=Mike Gravel endorses Jesse Johnson (Green Party) for President |publisher=Third Party Watch |date=March 11, 2008 |access-date=March 12, 2008}}</ref> saying he wanted to help Johnson prevail against Green Party rivals [[Cynthia McKinney]] and [[Ralph Nader]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://reason.com/blog/show/125552.html |title=Several Minutes with Mike Gravel |author=David Weigel |magazine=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |date=March 18, 2008 |access-date=March 24, 2008}}</ref> By late March, Gravel had almost no fundraising and was only on the ballot in one of the next ten Democratic primaries.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/article432763.ece |title=Mike Gravel has gone from long shot to no shot for presidency |author=Amy Hollyfield |newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |date=March 27, 2008 |access-date=May 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402054234/http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/article432763.ece |archive-date=April 2, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>


=== Switch to Libertarian Party ===
=== Switch to Libertarian Party ===
{{main|National Convention 2008}}
{{main|National Convention 2008}}
On March 25, 2008, Gravel announced that he would leave the Democrats and join the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]],<ref name="lp">{{cite web |url=http://www.lp.org/media/article_573.shtml |title=Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel joins Libertarian Party ranks |date=March 25, 2008 |access-date=March 25, 2008 |publisher=[[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326190245/http://www.lp.org/media/article_573.shtml |archive-date=March 26, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/content/personal-message-mike |title=A Personal Message from Mike |author=Mike Gravel |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=March 26, 2008 |access-date=March 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326185824/http://www.gravel2008.us/content/personal-message-mike |archive-date=March 26, 2008}}</ref> saying: "My libertarian views, as well as my strong stance against war, the military industrial complex and American imperialism, seem not to be tolerated by Democratic Party elites who are out of touch with the average American; elites that reject the empowerment of American citizens I offered to the Democratic Party at the beginning of this presidential campaign with the National Initiative for Democracy."<ref name="lp" /> The following day Gravel entered the race for the [[United States Libertarian presidential candidates, 2008|2008 Libertarian presidential nomination]],<ref name="nw033108">{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/129467/ |title=Maverick Mike |author=Sarah Elkins |magazine=[[Newsweek]] |date=March 31, 2008 |access-date=April 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506232848/http://www.newsweek.com/id/129467/ |archive-date=May 6, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> saying that he would have run as a third-party candidate all along except that he needed the public exposure that came from being in the earlier Democratic debates.<ref name="nw033108" /> Gravel's initial notion of running as a [[electoral fusion|fusion candidate]] with other parties was met with skepticism<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nysun.com/national/barr-gravel-eye-libertarian-nod-for-president/73744/ |title=Barr, Gravel Eye Libertarian Nod for President |author=Josh Gerstein |newspaper=[[The New York Sun]] |date=March 27, 2008 |access-date=May 26, 2008}}</ref> and not pursued.
On March 25, 2008, Gravel announced that he would leave the Democrats and join the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]],<ref name="lp">{{cite web |url=http://www.lp.org/media/article_573.shtml |title=Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel joins Libertarian Party ranks |date=March 25, 2008 |access-date=March 25, 2008 |publisher=[[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326190245/http://www.lp.org/media/article_573.shtml |archive-date=March 26, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/content/personal-message-mike |title=A Personal Message from Mike |author=Mike Gravel |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=March 26, 2008 |access-date=March 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326185824/http://www.gravel2008.us/content/personal-message-mike |archive-date=March 26, 2008}}</ref> saying: "My libertarian views, as well as my strong stance against war, the military industrial complex and American imperialism, seem not to be tolerated by Democratic Party elites who are out of touch with the average American; elites that reject the empowerment of American citizens I offered to the Democratic Party at the beginning of this presidential campaign with the National Initiative for Democracy."<ref name="lp" /> The following day Gravel entered the race for the [[United States Libertarian presidential candidates, 2008|2008 Libertarian presidential nomination]],<ref name="nw033108">{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/129467/ |title=Maverick Mike |author=Sarah Elkins |magazine=Newsweek |date=March 31, 2008 |access-date=April 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506232848/http://www.newsweek.com/id/129467/ |archive-date=May 6, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> saying that he would have run as a third-party candidate all along except that he needed the public exposure that came from being in the earlier Democratic debates.<ref name="nw033108" /> Gravel's initial notion of running as a [[electoral fusion|fusion candidate]] with other parties was met with skepticism<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nysun.com/national/barr-gravel-eye-libertarian-nod-for-president/73744/ |title=Barr, Gravel Eye Libertarian Nod for President |author=Josh Gerstein |newspaper=The New York Sun |date=March 27, 2008 |access-date=May 26, 2008}}</ref> and not pursued.


As a Libertarian candidate, Gravel faced resistance to his liberal past and unorthodox positions;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13249 |title=Will the Real Libertarian Please Stand Up? |author=Philip Klein |magazine=[[The American Spectator]] |date=May 21, 2008 |access-date=May 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526112141/http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13249 |archive-date=May 26, 2008}}</ref> nevertheless, he garnered more support than he had as a Democrat, placing second and third in two April 2008 [[straw poll]]s.<ref name="libdebate1">{{cite news |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/content/straw-poll-results |title=Straw Poll Results |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=April 8, 2008 |access-date=April 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409183243/http://www.gravel2008.us/content/straw-poll-results |archive-date=April 9, 2008}}</ref> In the May 25 balloting at the [[2008 Libertarian National Convention]] in [[Denver]], Gravel finished fourth out of eight candidates on the initial ballot, with 71 votes out of a total 618; he trailed former Congressman and eventual winner [[Bob Barr]], author [[Mary Ruwart]], and businessman [[Wayne Allyn Root]].<ref name="lp-vote">{{cite web |url=http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |title=Press Releases: Presidential and VP Vote Totals – Updated Live! |publisher=[[Libertarian Party (United States)|LP.org]] |date=May 25, 2008 |access-date=May 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528033121/http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gravel's position did not subsequently improve and he was eliminated on the fourth ballot.<ref name="lp-vote" /> Afterwards he stated that "I just ended my political career," but he vowed to continue promoting his positions as a writer and lecturer.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ |title=Libertarians Pick Barr as Presidential Nominee |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=May 25, 2008 |access-date=May 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528190001/http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
As a Libertarian candidate, Gravel faced resistance to his liberal past and unorthodox positions;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13249 |title=Will the Real Libertarian Please Stand Up? |author=Philip Klein |magazine=The American Spectator |date=May 21, 2008 |access-date=May 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526112141/http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13249 |archive-date=May 26, 2008}}</ref> nevertheless, he garnered more support than he had as a Democrat, placing second and third in two April 2008 [[straw poll]]s.<ref name="libdebate1">{{cite news |url=http://www.gravel2008.us/content/straw-poll-results |title=Straw Poll Results |publisher=Mike Gravel for President 2008 |date=April 8, 2008 |access-date=April 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409183243/http://www.gravel2008.us/content/straw-poll-results |archive-date=April 9, 2008}}</ref> In the May 25 balloting at the [[2008 Libertarian National Convention]] in Denver, Gravel finished fourth out of eight candidates on the initial ballot, with 71 votes out of a total 618; he trailed former Congressman and eventual winner [[Bob Barr]], author [[Mary Ruwart]], and businessman [[Wayne Allyn Root]].<ref name="lp-vote">{{cite web |url=http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |title=Press Releases: Presidential and VP Vote Totals – Updated Live! |publisher=[[Libertarian Party (United States)|LP.org]] |date=May 25, 2008 |access-date=May 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528033121/http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gravel's position did not subsequently improve and he was eliminated on the fourth ballot.<ref name="lp-vote" /> Afterwards he stated that "I just ended my political career," but he vowed to continue promoting his positions as a writer and lecturer.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ |title=Libertarians Pick Barr as Presidential Nominee |publisher=Fox News |date=May 25, 2008 |access-date=May 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528190001/http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>


== Awards and honors ==
== Awards and honors ==
In 2008 Gravel received the Columbia University School of General Studies' first annual Isaac Asimov Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pianin |first1=Alix |title=GS Honors Students, Alum at Annual Gala |url=http://columbiaspectator.com/2008/03/03/gs-honors-students-alum-annual-gala |access-date=October 10, 2014 |newspaper=[[Columbia Daily Spectator]] |date=March 3, 2008}}</ref>
In 2008 Gravel received the Columbia University School of General Studies' first annual Isaac Asimov Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pianin |first1=Alix |title=GS Honors Students, Alum at Annual Gala |url=http://columbiaspectator.com/2008/03/03/gs-honors-students-alum-annual-gala |access-date=October 10, 2014 |newspaper=Columbia Daily Spectator |date=March 3, 2008}}</ref>


== Writings ==
== Writings ==
MJL
350

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