You kind of have to admire this willingness to go all the way in the name of what has to be a joke: Newt Gingrich has more or less bankrupted himself.

The former U.S. House speaker’s time on the campaign trail has led to the shuttering of two businesses that generated $107 million in income during the last 10 years and helped him accrue at least $7.3 million in assets. His campaign also is struggling, bouncing a $500 check for the filing fee in the June 26 Utah primary, and amassing almost $4.5 million in debt.

His future earnings potential also is imperiled, public- relations advisers and Republican strategists said, in part because of his campaign rhetoric that derided “the Republican establishment” and vilified such previous consulting clients as Freddie Mac, a government-backed mortgage lender.

This is incredible. I know Gingrich realizes that he doesn't have another presidential run in him and so he has to take this one to the limit, but you have to admire his willingness to completely destroy himself for the sake of absolutely nothing.