My Tuesday post at Pundit League this week (which was actually a Thursday post due to my own fault) discusses the mockery that is the system of campaign finance laws, and how Presidential candidates are often candidates long before they run.  One example of a such a candidate is Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich, who flubbed his announcement-that-there-will-be-an-announcement-about-an-announcement last week, isn’t officially running yet, but has decided that his campaign will commence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

No one can argue with the symbolism of the locale.  If Pennsylvania is a blue state, then it is the Philly region that makes it so; yet the middle-class voters of the region are a key demographic for Republican victory nationally.  And of course, standing in front of the building where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence is priceless.  (Mitt Romney probably wishes he had thought of it first.)

And when the folks in this region come together… well, that’s when the fun starts.  Sarah Palin got booed dropping the puck at a Flyers game; Santa Claus got booed by Eagles fans.  Phillies fans whip D cell batteries at players so fiercely you’d think they’re auditioning to pitch the seventh inning.

And that’s just sports.  Don’t forget about the omnipresent unions and occasional voter intimidation tactics.  Does Gingrich really want to stand in front of a crowd of Philadelphians to announce his candidacy?

On the plus side, if Elton John played at Rush Limbaugh’s wedding, maybe he’ll perform for Newt’s kickoff too: