Saturday, January 06, 2007

Obama and Wal-Mart

Part three of my series, "The Audacity of Hope,"a continuing book report.

I'm halfway through the book, and I've come across two more jabs against the retail giant Wal-Mart.

Obama will likely announce a run for the presidency this month. Like his fellow Democrat John Edwards, who is already officially in the 2008 derby, Obama appears to have a grudge against Wal-Mart.

Both men took part in a conference call organized by the anti-Wal-Mart group, Wake-Up Wal-Mart late last year.

But back to Obama's book. As I blogged earlier this week, Obama took a shot at Wal-Mart on page 45 of "The Audacity of Hope."

On page 144, in a section of the book about the loss of factory jobs in Galesburg, Illinois, Obama paraphrases the reply from a union vice president about worker re-training.

He talked about how an employment counselor had suggested that he try becoming a nursing aide, with wages not much higher than what Wal-Mart paid their floor clerks.

Did the man bring up Wal-Mart during the conversation, or did Obama add that bit of color.

Moving ahead to page 173, Obama moves on to wage discrepancies between the United States and Third World nations.

But when all is said and done, China will still have more surplus labor in its countryside than half the entire population of the United States--which means Wal-Mart will be keeping suppliers there busy for a very, very long time.

Does Obama have a grudge against Wal-Mart? It seems so. Wal-Mart, like any organization, is not perfect. Being the world's largest corporation will attract attention, but half-way into this book, I haven't noticed any other company getting receiving similar scrutiny from Illinois' junior senator.

What would a President Obama mean for Wal-Mart and any other companies that don't meet his approval?

Related posts: John Edwards wakes up to Wal-Mart nightmare

More Obama: Wife serves on board of company whose biggest customer is Wal-Mart

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