Marginalized by the main stream press, ridiculed on the talk shows, Gravel, who started with little money, now sounds desperate: "Dear friend," writes Chris Petherick, Gravel’s chief of staff in an email yesterday. "Here at the national campaign office, we are working hard to keep Mike in this fight. . .After all of our hard work, Mike could literally run out of funds. . .It is that serious. . .The risks Mike has taken by not playing it safe, and the backlash he has faced as a result of standing up for our country, will be for nothing if you do not take action today. Don't let this be our last stand."

Is this the end for this fighter, a former member of the Senate who fought the Vietnam war and nuclear testing? None of the others have his first-hand experience in politics. Save for Kucinich, Gravel stands as the outsider. It sounds as if his work will fall to Ron Paul.