And they're off: Holiday starts election season

Scores of politicians mixed with tens of thousands of union partisans Monday in the Labor Day rite that marks the unofficial kickoff of the fall political season.

Across from the Civic Arena, near the front of this showcase for a once-reliable Democratic Party constituency, was Attorney General Tom Corbett, the GOP candidate for governor, marching with members of the Fraternal Order of Police. In a year in which Republians hope to make major gains, was the high-profile position of the GOP candidate an omen?