The other candidates

PORTLAND, Ore. — ONE is a Democrat, the other a Republican. They've never met but share much in common: Both wear dark suits and sneakers, for one.
Neither has a lot of money. Both are running for president.Mike Gravel and Ron Paul. Mike and Ron. Their names, sharing space at the bottom of the polls, seem increasingly linked. Each came out swinging in the debates and scored points for candor and quirkiness and, in Gravel's case, crankiness.The oldest of the declared candidates, Gravel, 77, and Paul, 71, have become the campaign's upstarts. They've helped draw an audience that might otherwise not have tuned in to the earliest-starting primary season in U.S. history.After the first debate, Gravel generated more Internet traffic than any other Democratic contender except Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Through much of June and early July, "Ron Paul" was among the top three most frequently searched terms on the Web. Paul's YouTube videos were viewed 2.3 million times.So who are these guys? Can two old men in rubber shoes win their parties' nomination to be leader of the free
world?