Honesty, integrity, experience.  A history of accomplishments and patriotism that puts the other candidates to shame.  A true love for his country and her people.  The guts to speak the truth and stand up for what’s right.  Working to empower the people, not special interest groups, corporations and the military industrial complex.  Wants peace, not war.  All qualities a great president should have - and all the qualities of Sen. Mike Gravel. 
http://www.gravel2008.us
Free America - Gravel ‘08!

Gravel’s comments in September 2007 on bankruptcy:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N75sLm0o8kw

As he clearly states, the first bankruptcy in 1980 was for a failed condominium project, the second in 2004 was to finance a national initiative. More disturbing was his claim that he “stuck it” (the bill) to the credit card companies and that “they deserved it”. Now, regardless of how we all feel about the snake-oil selling that is credit card promotion, a comment like this, combined with his later reframing of the “true” story, sends up a big red flag for me.

Get real, other than some essential truth-telling and animated one-liners that most of us agree with, what kind of president will Gravel be? If honesty is the litmus test you place on a candidate, how does Gravel meet the standard when he can’t even take responsibility for his own debts? Sure, we hate credit card companies because they lie, cheat, and steal, but does that justify “sticking it” to them because, I don’t know, they’re sticking it to you? A more mature way to handle this would be to contact your congressman, let them know that credit card companies are putting unreasonable demands on you, and work out a solution. Apparently, that’s not how Gravel operates.

Gravel plainly stated in the debate that the reason he rode up his credit card debt was to fund a public initiative, not for health reasons, so I’m not sure what his apologists are referring to - his public comments belie whatever later reason he might have given. This is not the point, however. He said it was basically a badge of pride to “stick it” to the credit card company. Regardless of predatory lending practices, campus infiltration, and the like, no person running for the highest office in the land can use these instances as a justification for neglecting their obligation to pay debts. Had he talked about how he personally experienced the pitfalls of credit card shenanigans and then proposed how we address the issue, that would have been constructive, but being the sour old grouch that he is, as is the case with his entire career, it’s always someone else’s problem.

As I said previously, we can all nod our collective heads and agree with Gravel that Washington is corrupt and the two parties collude with private interests to the detriment of most Americans, but is that a policy agenda? I don’t think so. It’s the same deal with Ron Paul - we nod our heads when he talks about the boondoggle in Iraq, but he doesn’t believe government’s role should extend beyond encouraging free market capitalism, unencumbered by messy things like public education, highways, Social Security, and health care. When asked for specifics, all we get are vague allusions to corruption, cronyism, and “politics as usual”. This far along in our common recognition of these well-publicized facts, I’m ready for a leader who tells us something we don’t know, and presents a plan on how to move forward. Gravel and Paul, they’re living in the past, and have no shame in staying there and no hope of looking ahead.

Gravel went into credit card debt trying to pay for a serious health issue he had.

Who is going to be more likely to change health care - Gravel, who got shafted by our shitty medical system - or hillary or obama, both who are only behind mitt romney with the amount of money they take from pharmaceutical companies?

Sen. Gravel is a joke, a “mad as hell” grumpy old man who believes that it’s OK to “shaft” credit card companies on the debt he accumulated several years ago. Sorry, but in my book, someone who thinks this way is not qualified to set the tone for badly needed economic expansion in our country. His “anti-establishment” rants are played, too. Government is dysfunctional, it only looks out for big special interests, the Dems are no different from the Repubs, blah, blah, blah. Anyone who believes that even a DLC candidate like Hillary is no different than Bushco, Inc., or any of the Repub front-runners pays no serious attention to politics or policy. We might still hold our noses at the tactics, but when it comes down to brass tacks, it’s what each party EMPHASIZES as it’s policy vision that counts. I’ve seen nothing from Gravel, and little from Kucinich, that suggests they have a broad view of changing the nation’s course.

Will Gravel and Kucinich and Paul tell of this government’s cover-up of 9/11.  What have they to lose.  Death threats to family.  Too bad, they are this freaked.

“The Republic will fail, as soon as ‘the people’find they can vote themselves money”

Ben Franklin

Gravel MUST be allowed to speak in the debate(s). Other than Kucinch, he’s all we got as a voice.  Write/e-mail whyoever.  He HAS to be part of the discussions &/or debate ??

take it with a grain of salt???

america is at risk of loosing her republic, this isnt just a tempest that will pass.
krushev was right.
elevate the debate.