Not that there was any doubt after his putrid mugging through “Helter Skelter,” but here’s confirmation at last that even Mike Gravel regards his candidacy as a third-rate joke. File this away with that Bob Dole/Britney Spears Pepsi ad as examples of formerly esteemed geriatrics who decided to gross us all out by scoping out women young enough to be their granddaughters.

On the upside, they did somehow manage to find him a partner who’s polling worse than he is.