None
Former Vice Presidential candidate and 2008 presidential hopeful John Edwards has been denouncing Wal-Mart for its poor treatment of employees as late as yesterday. Yet, the Senator may have lost his credibility in this argument as recent reports point to Edwards using his political clout to influence Wal-Mart into giving him a PlayStation 3.
The same day that Edwards participated in a union conference call about the treatment of Wal-Mart employees, the mega-chain released a statement saying that Edwards had a staffer call Wal-Mart and try to secure a PlayStation 3 for him using the senator’s name to influence the Wal-Mart employee. “While the rest of America’s working families are waiting patiently in line,” Wal-Mart stated. “Senator Edwards wants to cut to the front.”
Initially, Edwards denied the accusations. Later, however, he admitted that the staffer did attempt to secure a PS3, but he did not have explicit directions from the senator to do so.
“My wife, Elizabeth, wanted to get a PlayStation 3 for my young children. She mentioned it in front of one of my staff people. 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,” Edwards stated. “Elizabeth and I knew nothing about this. [The staffer] feels terrible about this. He made a mistake and he knows he should not have used my name.”
We may never know the truth of whether or not Edwards requested the staffer to attempt to get a PS3, but at least we can take solace in the fact that even powerful senators cannot get their hands on the coveted console.