Yesterday I wrote in praise of the entrepreneurial spirit — cheering the story of the Cary man who went to the homeless shelter to hire people to stand in line for him to get a Playstation 3 game console. He’s paying the homeless men $100 bucks a day and feeding them, too. Apparently he hopes to turn around and sell the unit(s) on eBay and profit on the difference between the current, true market price of the PS3 and the retail price.
In today’s News & Observer, we read of someone approaching the PS3 problem in a completely different way. This person isn’t hiring someone to stand in line for him (let alone the homeless — the truly poorest among us). This person doesn’t think he deserves to stand in line at all. This person apparently thinks his name is sufficient to merit him the PS3. This person had a volunteer staffer call the Raleigh Wal-Mart and drop his name to “cut in line” for the PS3. This person is a “liberal” Democrat, who pretends to care about the poorest among us and the working families, in a grab for political power. This person regularly demonizes Wal-Mart. This person is none other than John Edwards.
And Wal-Mart thumped him memorably for his presumptiveness and apparent hypocrisy, as well they should. Wal-Mart has done more for the poor in America in the time it takes John to get his hair perfect than Edwards has done his entire political career:
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Nov. 16, 2006 – Just like the millions of Americans who turn to their neighborhood Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) for their holiday shopping needs, Wal-Mart announced today that former Sen. John Edwards is seeking to be one of the first to get a Sony PlayStation3, one of the most coveted holiday gift items this Christmas season.
Yesterday, a staff person for former Sen. Edwards contacted a Wal-Mart electronics manager in Raleigh, North Carolina to obtain a Sony PlayStation3 on behalf of the Senator’s family. Later that night, Sen. Edwards reportedly re-told a homespun story to participants of a United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union-sponsored call about how his son had chided a fellow student for purchasing shoes at Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart welcomes Sen. Edwards to visit his local Wal-Mart store and explore the extensive line of home electronics as well as the Metro7 line shoes for men and boys.
The Company noted the PlayStation3 is an extremely popular item this Christmas season, and while the rest of America’s working families are waiting patiently in line, Senator Edwards wants to cut to the front. While, we cannot guarantee that Sen. Edwards will be among one of the first to obtain a PlayStation3, we are certain Sen. Edwards will be able to find great gifts for everyone on his Christmas list – many at Wal-Mart’s “roll-back prices.â€
Edwards’ defense is a howler:
Edwards said Thursday night that he and his family do not shop at Wal-Mart but that a volunteer aide acted on his own initiative.
“My wife Elizabeth was looking for a PlayStation for my kids,” Edwards said in interview. “A young man who volunteers for us, apparently without our knowledge, was looking for a PlayStation 3 for himself and offered to look for one for us. He was not aware that Wal-Mart doesn’t provide health insurance or decent pay for many of its employees or of my efforts to change the way Wal-Mart treats its employees.”
Wait — he works for you and he’s not up to speed on your foolish cant about Wal-Mart? Maybe you need to spend more time in the office, “Senator”!