Mike Gravel is determined to participate in tonight’s debate in Philadelphia. But since he did not meet MSNBC’s criteria for inclusion, he’s holding his own. And as he sees it, he’s facing a rival much bigger than Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama — the cable network itself, and its parent company General Electric.

At 9 p.m. Eastern, the same time the Democratic debate starts at Drexel University, Mr. Gravel will begin his live Web cast, during which he says he’ll answer “many of the same debate questions” as the official participants. He’ll be camped at a World Café Live on Philadelphia’s Walnut Street, along with, according to an e-mail message, “hundreds of supporters and anti-war protesters to protest G.E.”
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Florida Democrats are so excited about Mike Gravel, the former Alaska senator running for the presidential nomination, that they’re letting him speak twice at their convention in Lake Buena Vista this weekend: once this morning and again this evening.

Well, actually, they’re not that excited about him. As S.V. Date of The Palm Beach Post puts it, Mr. Gravel “registered less than 1 percent in last week’s Quinnipiac poll, below ‘someone else’ and ‘wouldn’t vote.’”

But Mr. Gravel is the only presidential candidate who agreed to show up at the event, which in the past has been a popular destination for candidates, as much for the state’s purple hue on the election map as its warm weather. When the state legislature moved Florida’s primary up to Jan. 29, the Democratic National Committee vowed to punish the state by stripping its delegates, and most of the candidates signed a pledge not to campaign there.

The St. Petersburg Times lamented the situation in an editorial today, mocking Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democrats, for calling this weekend’s meetings “the most exciting convention in Florida’s history.” The paper also admonished Howard Dean, the D.N.C.’s chairman:

This year, Dean will need to rethink that calculation. The latest Quinnipiac poll finds that 22 percent of Florida’s independent voters say they are now less likely to vote for a Democratic president because of the DNC’s shenanigans. In this still closely divided partisan environment, 22 percent is enough to turn Florida red - which is not the color Dean wants to see on the election map.

Thurman will surely do her best this weekend to keep the party faithful happy. But this convention, like the upcoming primary, is a conspicuous demonstration of how little the state matters in the 2008 Democratic primary season. If it draws national media attention, it will be for the political oddity of it all. The press might pull up a chair in the same way some children peek inside the carnival tent to see the tattooed man hammer a 16-penny nail up his nose - in a perverse attraction to acts of self-mutilation.

Anger at the national party runs high in Florida. Senator Bill Nelson and Representative Alcee Hastings are suing Mr. Dean, and The Associated Press reports that attendees booed when Mr. Nelson mentioned the boycott, even though many of them are supporting the absent candidates.

The Republican Party will also take away some delegates from the Sunshine State (just as it will do to New Hampshire, Iowa and other states holding nominating contests prior to Feb. 5), but G.O.P. candidates are completely free to campaign there—and they are, as evidenced by the debate in Orlando last week.

Mr. Date, who has published a biography of Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, looks deeper at the differences between the two parties in the state and how the boycott will affect the race:

But a bigger problem for Florida Democrats could be that their primary race is fundamentally different from that of the Republicans.

The GOP candidates all seek the support of the sitting governor and therefore have an incentive to maintain a visible presence. There is no analogous kingmaker on the Democratic side.

Further, the Republican race features former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who is popular among many South Florida retirees; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has taken over part of Jeb Bush’s campaign machine; and former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who also has quickly put together a Florida organization.

In contrast, none of the Democrats has built a Florida coalition. That could leave Mrs. Clinton as the best-positioned because she can tap into the network of backers of her husband, the former president.

In any case, the double engagement for Mr. Gravel is a boon for him, especially since he has been excluded from Tuesday’s Democratic debate in Philadelphia.

Mike Gravel, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, was thrilled with the group of around 50 people congregated in a Manhattan church for his fund-raiser Tuesday night.

“For me, this is a big turnout,” he said.

It’s not hard to figure out why his crowds are small. For one thing, he doesn’t give much advance notice of his appearances. “It’s the only security I have,” he said, explaining that he does not have enough campaign funds to hire bodyguards. “I’m totally vulnerable.”

But perhaps the bigger issue is the fact that he hasn’t served in public office since 1981. Many of the college-age supporters first learned about him at the recent debates—they weren’t even born when he helped expose the Pentagon Papers or worked to end the draft as a senator from Alaska in the 1970s.

And so, perhaps as a result of his low bank account and name recognition, Mr. Gravel appears likely to lose his key means of exposure. The campaign found out last week that Mr. Gravel is not eligible for the Oct. 30 debate in Philadelphia on MSNBC. In a missive on The Huffington Post blog, he claims he does indeed meet two of the “arbitrary criteria” which include 14 visits to Iowa and New Hampshire or at least a 5 percent showing in one of the two most recent polls in those states or $1 million raised during the year. Read more …

Two of the early primary states still reign supreme in the hearts and minds of candidates, (and one might hold a contest even earlier, as Jeff Zeleny reported Friday night).

Today, Mr. Zeleny reports that while some national pundits have anointed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primary, the race in Iowa is impossible to call. On the Republican side, no one has any idea who will come out on top, so Mitt Romney and Rudolph W. Giuliani are duking it out in the Granite State in a classic battle of polite vs. pugnacious.

Mr. Romney isn’t the former New York mayor’s only threat. Fred D. Thompson has teamed up with former Senator Alfonse M. D’Amato, The Times’s Sam Roberts reports, with the late entrant getting debate prep help from the former Giuliani ally. The Republicans will face Mr. Thompson for the first time in debate on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern time on CNBC (rebroadcast on MSNBC at 9 p.m.).
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He lacks money and viability, but at least former Senator Mike Gravel is collecting lovely parting gifts. The long shot presidential candidate was seen ambling alone on Capitol Hill the other day carrying a small blue goody bag. “I got this from Charlie Rose,” the Alaska Democrat said, referring to a TV interview he had just finished.

The bag’s contents: “Micro-roasted” Peruvian coffee, a Newman’s Own Chocolate bar and a sugar cookie. Mr. Gravel was walking to his car, set to devour his sugar cookie lunch, when a reporter asked if he was having fun? “Oh, heck no,” he said.

Updated
Fred D. Thompson is taking to the trail in full force, and getting asked some tough questions.

From Susan Saulny of The Times:

Before a small crowd here in a downtown convention center, for instance, Mr. Thompson often appeared to ramble. When asked “what society’s position should be on deviants, including homosexuality,” he gave a somewhat meandering answer that included, “I think that we should not have discrimination, but that we should not set aside categories to give special set-aside treatments for, and treatments to.”

He did not use the word “homosexuality” in the answer, continuing:

“You never know the full story behind someone. You can’t set aside every individual citizen and look into their background and pass judgment on them, nor should you. That’s not the federal government’s job.”

He also called gay marriage “a totally judicially created problem” and said he supports a constitutional amendment to define marriage as one man and one woman. However, one leader of the religious right said that Mr. Thompson’s position does not go far enough.

Mr. Thompson addressed his diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which he called a “chronic illness” akin to diabetes.

As one Republican’s campaign begins, another is expected to announce that his campaigning days are over. Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, the maverick Republican who toyed an anti-war run for the White House, will announce Monday that he is retiring at the end of his term and will not seek the presidency.
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After new details emerged about the criminal record of one of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s top donors — who has also given generously to many other Democrats over the years –– her campaign announced that it would give the $23,000 contribution from New York businessman Norman Hsu to charity. The question remains whether other donations that he bundled will be returned.

The Times’s Mike McIntire and Leslie Wayne report that the episode has been an “embarrassment for the Clinton campaign, which has strived to project an image of rectitude in its fund-raising.” Mr. Hsu, a major bundler for Mrs. Clinton, is also a fugitive in California where he pleaded no contest to a charge of grand theft 15 years ago but failed to show up for his sentencing.

Following up on their exclusive on this story earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal’s Brody Mullins and Ianthe Jeanne Dugan note that other prominent Democrats are also giving away contributions from Mr. Hsu, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. He received $23,000 from Mr. Hsu for his gubernatorial campaign, which he has now decided to donate to charity.
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