Delays with New AdWords Accounts

I've been following a thread for a few days at SEW in which member I, Brian asks:

"I joined AdWords on Friday, set up an account, and 3 small campaigns with adgroups to test different keyword areas.The set up FAQ says it make take a few minutes to go live, and stats reporting may be out for three hours - but after 3 days, nothing is happening - no impressions, nothing."

and:

"Is there a magic "on" button I have to press?"

That question was posed on the 15th, and on the 16th his ads went live. He confirmed that the account was under review, which one would have to assume is normal for new accounts.

On the evening of the 17th he made some changes to his account and posted today that it appears the entire account has been paused again. No impressions are being reported hours after the changes have been made, and, he is not targeting the content network which I know requires approval before ads go live.

So, with that said, the question of the day is:

"Is it normal for new accounts to be repeatedly suspended for review??"

I've had my account for years so I'm not fully up to speed on the potential delays associated with a new AdWords account.

If any of this sounds familiar to you stop by the forums and lend a hand.