Marathon Pundit: Wal to Wal Hillary coverage

Last year John Edwards and Barack Obama were shown to be hypocrites when their anti-Wal-Mart stances became yet another "Do as I say, not as I do" situation Democrats seem to find themselves in in regards to the world of commerce.

The New York Times' Michael Barbaro, who pretty much owns the Wal-Mart beat at the Old Gray Lady, is tough on Hillary, as he is often with Wal-Mart itelf:

Mrs. Clinton’s six-year tenure as a director of Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest company, remains a little known chapter in her closely scrutinized career. And it is little known for a reason. Mrs. Clinton rarely, if ever, discusses it, leaving her board membership out of her speeches and off her campaign Web site.

Fellow board members and company executives, who have not spoken publicly about her role at Wal-Mart, say Mrs. Clinton used her position to champion personal causes, like the need for more women in management and a comprehensive environmental program, despite being Wal-Mart’s only female director, the youngest and arguably the least experienced in business. On other topics, like Wal-Mart’s vehement anti-unionism, for example, she was largely silent, they said.

Barbaro notes as a Wal-Mart bord member, HRC was "offered her about $15,000 a year for her time, generally four meetings a year."

That's a pretty soft gig, especially since she didn't have to travel far to Bentonville, Arkansas for those meetings, unlike some other board members.

But in 2005, because of "serious differences" with Wal-Mart's practices, Clinton returned a $5,000 political donation from Wal-Mart.

What a hypocrite. The Wal-Mart of 2005 wasn't much different--other than being bigger--than is was during Hillary's time on the board, especially on labor issues.

The Los Angeles Times on the same day has an article about Hillary's Wal-Mart days.

Writing such a story is a natural for any inquisitive reporter, but two when two major papers write essentially the same story and publish it on the same day, it is not a coincidence.

Hillary wouldn't speak to Barbaro or the LA Times reporter, Stephen Braun, on the Wal-Mart stories. That's not surprising, especially since the Obama camp was been mum on Michelle Obama's Wal-Mart ties.

Mr. Braun and Mr. Barbaro: Now there's a story to look into.

Related posts:

John Edwards wakes up to Wal-Mart nightmare

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

My book report: The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy

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