Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel died on Saturday, June 26. He is most notable for being a U.S. Senator from 1969 to 1981, but I remember him best from his unsuccessful run for president in 2008, which turned him into an early YouTube viral star. Here’s a quick overview:

The Rock

Let’s start with the “Rock” video, for which he is probably most famous. In 2007, Gravel posted this…unorthodox 3-minute video of himself on YouTube. He stares into the camera for over a minute, then, without a word, turns around and threw a rock into a lake. According to Gravel, this wasn’t an ad but a “metaphor of an ordinary citizen who acts in an unusual and extraordinary way.” The rock-throw represented a person starting a revolution.

Weird, yes, but Time Magazine later included it in its list of Top 10 Campaign Ads of all time.

(By the way, Gravel posted an updated version of the video when he made another run for the presidency in 2020.)

Lobbying the Obama Girl

Gravel was competing in the 2008 presidential campaign against, among others, Barack Obama, who had some viral moments of his own up his sleeve.

In June 2007, the YouTube channel Barely Political hired a model to play “Obama Girl” in a video in which the character expressed her crush on Barack Obama.

In a subsequent video, Barely Political posted this video of Gravel trying to recruit the “Obama Girl” onto his campaign. It featured Gravel singing (for real, which was better than the actress playing Obama Girl, who was lip syncing), rapping, and trying to impress her with the Crank That Soulja Boy dance. The result was hilarious:

Power to the People. Give Peace a Chance.

Just watch the video. It’s worth it.