Wal-Mart: Sen. Edwards, Wait in Line for PS3
It doesn't seem to even matter if you were a former United States Senator, the rules are just the same in attempting to obtain a PlayStation 3: wait in line like everybody else. At least that's what national retailer Wal-Mart is telling Sen. John Edwards.
Edwards, who is widely believed to be preparing to announce plans to form an exploratory committee to run for president in 2008, apparently directed one of his aides to attempt to secure a PS3 from a Wal-Mart store in Raleigh, N.C.
The manager must have declined, a statement by Wal-Mart seems to suggest. However, Sen. Edward's later actions angered the company enough that they decided to publicly make light of the Senator's actions.
According to Wal-Mart, Edwards told a conference call of union supporters "a homespun story" of how his son chided a fellow student over his support of the discount retailer. Wal-Mart has been accused of being anti-union, and several unions are spearheading efforts to boycott the store.
It's not clear if the retort may be politically motivated: according to liberal buying guide BuyBlue, 78 percent of the company's political donations are to Republicans, while only 22 percent has gone to Democrats.
"While the rest of America's working families are waiting patiently in line, Senator Edwards wants to cut to the front," the company said in a statement.
"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,'" it continued.
No word on whether the Senator plans to take up Wal-Mart on its gracious offer.