Mike Gravel, now running as a Libertarian candidate for president of the United States, apparently knows a thing or two about pandering to pop culture and tech geeks. In a video released today by Barely Political, he woos Obama Girl in song, dances the Soulja Boy, and name-drops Twitter. Getting a politician to play along — is it cringe-inducing or cold-heart-warming? Watch and see:

The video was made by Joe Sabia of political quiz site SexyPolitics (he’s also the guy who made 7-Minute Sopranos). For other Gravel online video moments, see our coverage of his interview in James Kotecki’s dorm room, and his collaboration DJ Mike Gravel & Rx Paranoia.

Update: We spoke with Sabia and David Eisenbach, Gravel’s communications director, about the making of the video and how it relates to Gravel’s campaign.

Sabia fondly recalled telling Gravel “we need more thug,” and eliciting a spirited performance from the candidate, who apparently had no reservations in the recording studio or in front of the green screen.

Sabia hits the nail on the head: “Hillary and Obama and McCain could never do something like this, but there’s a certain charm in realizing Gravel could do something like this, and he did it.”

Eisenbach said the campaign has willingly participated in online videos, though it hasn’t generated any of the ideas itself. He recalled Gravel’s famous video The Rock , in which he stares at a camera for over a minute before throwing a rock in a lake and walking off. Gravel agreed to the shoot and went through with it before being told what it was about. “It wasn’t until after he saw it that he saw the metaphor,” said Eisenbach.

While Eisenbach admitted the campaign’s degree of openness to new ideas could be abused, he also said, “We’re always open to what people have in mind, they should just let us know.”