Everyone loves a good hypocrite; they make us feel superior
just for being consistent, if not competent. Accordingly the Internets are
getting a good snort out of Wal-Mart basher John Edwards getting caught looking
for Wal-Mart to hook him up with
a Playstation 3.
Edwards explains that an overzealous campaign staffer – is there
ever any other kind? – took his family's longings for a Playstation 3 a little
too seriously. A call was placed to Wal-Mart to see if the Edwards clan could
somehow jump to the front of the line for season's hottest gotta'
have gift. Aside from the staffer's positively insane decision to reach out
to a Raleigh Wal-Mart given all of Edwards' repeated slams of the company,
nothing too surprising here. Just garden variety American ruling class
behavior.
But Wal-Mart took that request and did something very
unusual – it went on the offensive, issuing a mocking press
release on the incident:
Just like the millions of Americans
who turn to their neighborhood Wal-Mart 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.
That the Edwards request actually made its way to
Bentonville, where a decision was made to respond, and to respond forcefully again
sets Wal-Mart apart from most of corporate America.
Try to imagine that happening with a Big 2.5 automaker, for example. News of
the request would take a week to get past an iron guard of executive VPs. Wal-Mart
acted in hours.
However, the slapstick of the Edwards misstep should not
obscure the really big picture, the fatal flaw in his "Two Americas"
spiel. Many thousands of Americans evidently have $600 to spend on a video
game machine. What's more, this Christmas is expected to usher in the year
of the flat-panel. With price points dropping below the $1000 mark, high-end
TVs are moving down-market fast with Wal-Mart leading the way.
Contrary to the Edwards' pitch that labor-hostile companies
are leaving American workers destitute, somebody is making some money out there
in America.
More importantly, they are making it in many, many cases without a union card. This reality will very hard for union-funded
Democrats like Edwards to ignore as the 2008 presidential campaign unfolds. Hewing
to the union rules, clear evidence of prosperity, like perhaps a shortage of
$600 game machines, will have to be swept out of the campaign.
Impossible you say? Edwards has a head start. From his perch
at the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the UNC
Law School,
Edwards has spent the past
year and a half flying around the country telling everyone how bad things
are. Predatory lenders, for
example, are lending too much money to poor people who in some cases cannot
pay the money back. Yes, things are bleak indeed.
The alternative to a Democratic presidential campaign marked
by a downward spiral of Pythonseque depravation
one-upsmanship might actually address issues like the federal entitlement
explosion or comprehensive income tax reform, two areas where Republicans have
failed miserably to advance any coherent solution. Should Edwards or Hillary
Clinton or someone find away to talk about these things without class-warfare
cant, they'll have a head start on the general election.
In any event, maybe the best thing for Wal-Mart to do is
stop chortling and go ahead and give John Edwards a PS3 and a couple games. Throw
in a flat-panel too. Maybe that way he'll reacquaint himself with American
prosperity and abundance and be a better candidate for the experience.
Jeff Taylor is editor of ReasonExpress. 