John Edwards In Flap With Wal-Mart

(AP)  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday that a staff member for former Sen. John Edwards — a vocal critic of the retailer — asked his local Wal-Mart store for help in getting the potential 2008 presidential candidate a Sony PlayStation 3. Edwards said a volunteer did so by mistake.

Edwards told The Associated Press that the volunteer "feels terrible" about seeking the game unit at Wal-Mart a day after his boss criticized the company, saying it doesn't treat its employees fairly.

"My wife, Elizabeth, wanted to get a Playstation3 for my young children. She mentioned it in front of one of my staff people," Edwards said. "That staff person mentioned it in front of a volunteer who said he would make an effort to get one. He was making an effort to go get one for himself.

"Elizabeth and I knew nothing about this. He feels terrible about this. He made a mistake, and he knows he should not have used my name," Edwards said.

Edwards said the volunteer was "a young kid" unaware of what he called flawed Wal-Mart policies. He called the Wal-Mart statement an effort to divert attention from its own problems.

After Wal-Mart this summer hired Edelman executive Leslie Dach as its public relations director and put him on the company's executive team, analysts said the retailer would likely become more aggressive toward its critics.

Wal-Mart had noted in a news release Thursday that on the same day Edwards was criticizing the company in a conference call with union-backed activists, the volunteer staff member had asked a Raleigh, N.C., electronics department manager to obtain a PS3 for the ex-senator's family.

From Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., company spokesman David Tovar said the person who called left a voicemail at the Raleigh store and identified himself as an Edwards staff member. When the manager returned the call, the staff member again identified himself as working for Edwards, and Wal-Mart said it confirmed that with Edwards' office.

The retailer's news release accused Edwards of not wanting to wait his turn.

"While the rest of America's working families are waiting patiently in line, Senator Edwards wants to cut to the front," the Wal-Mart statement said.

The PlayStation 3 console went on sale at midnight Friday.

Edwards, the Democrats' vice presidential candidate in 2004, spoke Wednesday to supporters of union-backed WakeUpWalMart.com on a conference call launching the group's holiday season campaign to pressure Wal-Mart for better labor standards.

In the call, he repeated a story about his son Jack disapproving of a classmate buying sneakers at Wal-Mart. "If a 6-year-old can figure it out, America can definitely figure this out," Edwards said.

Previously, Edwards has appeared at WakeUpWalMart rallies.

[ftuccillo]

this is for coolhouse1. there is a big difference between what a politician does in public and what he does in private. that's why, like lawyers, they can't stand the light of day. edwards spends his days bashing wal-mart and then goes to them for a favor. the only misstake his aide made was to use edwards name. that was the light of day. cool out coolhouse1 and smell the roses. edwards, like many politicians, is a phoney. what he says that he believes in, depends on where he is and who he is talking to.

[frankly6]

This is not news.

[cornflower3]

again rich/famous/polititian you get special treatment.everybody else can wait in line, be trampled, shot, all for a game. this country is so screwed up and has no concept over what is important anymore. all those people who had so much time and money on their hands to wait in line for three days for a toy could have been helping the homeless or seniors or disabled in their area.

[exusmcsgt]

Anyone who runs after a game console like a panting dog has their head up their arse. How totally absurd.

[shelby2004]

I think that we have a few bigger problems to worry about in this country than an eager-to-please Edward's staffer making a dumb mistake.
Was it really such a slow news day that we had to here about this?
It wasn't Edwards himself who called Wal-mart; give it up already.

[r84mosstd]

Wal-Mart put shoppers in an extremely dangerous situation, forcing them to run to get in line to buy the new PlayStation games and putting their health and even their lives at risk. People can get injured or killed by being trampled in a stampede.

One young man at a Wisconsin Wal-Mart was seriously injured when he was bumped into a flagpole while racing to get in line. He was hospitalized with a dislocated jaw. This all could have been easily avoided if Wal-Mart had just acted responsibly by holding a raffle, rather than this reckless race.


Video of man being injured in race at Wal-Mart: http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/video/10339676/index.html

There will probably be some litigation that will result from this, and no doubt Wal-Mart will continue to give money to politicians who promise to cap jury awards so that reckless and negligent behavior by giant corporations is not punished and deterred.

Now, what was that terrible thing that the young volunteer for Edwards did (without the senator's knowledge)? Oh yeah, calling a store to see about getting a game for the Edwards family. How awful!

[giarc6]

I find the following repulsive:

"In the call, he repeated a story about his son Jack disapproving of a classmate buying sneakers at Wal-Mart. "If a 6-year-old can figure it out, America can definitely figure this out," Edwards said."

Let's stop kidding ourselves and admit that John's son's "disapproving" is a euphamism for "making fun of" his classmate. His 6-year old had no moral opinion of Wal-Mart but was instead simply being a snob. Any father who teaches it is proper to make fun of others who shop at Wal-Mart should focus on the morals he is teaching his own family rather than attempt to the tell America what is right or wrong.

[isthatso-2009]

I'm so sick of Wal-Mart bashing. Wal-Mart is not the evil empire. Especially about their "entry-level" wages.

Entry-level = lowest average wage

--- However --- but given personal experience, somebody please tell me where people without a college degree can start like $7.00/hr, get into a management training program within 1 year, train and get paid much more wages for training, get salary increase to over $32,000/yr, and then 18 months later, be considered for a Co-Manager position which will pay considerably more? --- My $7.00/hr job was a pittance from what I had previously made but life necessitated a career change and sometimes you have to pay your dues. I have a new career and everything is going great. I'll tell you where it happened for me....Wal-Mart. So from me to you critics, shut up please!

[coolhouse1]

Wal-Mart corporate executives are obviously not happy making hundreds of small businesses close their doors. Now they have to start picking on individuals. Does their PR department have nothing better to do than issue a statement about John Edward's staffer trying to purchase a play station?

If you think Wal-Mart is great, I would like to hear from you 10 years from now when there is
no choice but to shop at Wal-Mart for groceries. They have recently gotten into the banking industry in Mexico. What's next?

[P. Earp]

John Edwards use to be a nice good old country boy, then he run for senate and won and away he went, but did nothing for the people in N.C. Then he made a run for president, lost, vice president, lost. Now he has gotton above his raise-in and cares only for votes he can't win.