Why does Obama hate Wal-Mart?

In the now infamous exchange between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during the SC debate Senator Obama tried to smear Hillary Clinton with her time on Wal-Mart's board. Most viewers watching though probably didn't laugh as hard as I did at Barack Obama's hypocrisy.

When it became politically expedient Senator Obama had his wife quit the board of TreeHouse Foods back in May. Now, why would Senator Obama make the Mrs. quit a job when they have a mansion to pay off? Could it be because the biggest customer of the IL based company is Wal-Mart stores?

"In a statement issued by the campaign, Obama said, “As my campaign commitments continue to ramp up, it is becoming more difficult for me to provide the type of focus I would like on my professional responsibilities." She said it was in “the best interests of my family and the company” she quit."

Surely Senator Obama wouldn't be so hypocritical as to cut his ties with a company that has been helping him pay the bills just because their number #1 customer is Wal-Mart. Sadly, it seems that it is indeed the case. You can't go around preaching against how Hillary Clinton's house is dirty when your wife is being paid $51,200 for sitting on the board of TreeHouse Foods, a Wal-Mart supplier.

I guess the Senator thinks that having his wife quit the board of a large Wal-Mart supplier would wash away the Wal-Mart stank. Unfortunately for him he can't so easily erase the memory of us Chicagoans who remember his other Wal-Mart connection.

When Chicago Alderman Dorothy Tillman was caught in a run off election for control of the 3rd ward she was feeling the heat from a young upstart by the name of Pat Dowell. Saying that Dorothy Tillman was a controversial figure in Chicago politics is a bit of an understatement. She's famous for her big fancy hats but she's also known for allegedly carrying a gun (for self-defense) and supposedly brandishing it while on the job. In 2000 she made headlines for requesting that the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago replace white waiters with black waiters for a functions she was having at the hotel. She was also a big supporter of allowing Wal-Mart to enter the Chicago market Pat-Dowell was the candidate who was backed by labor groups and opposed Wal-Mart and Big Box stores not paying a living wage.

At a debate the two candidate were scheduled to appear at Tillman didn't show up, leaving Dowell to debate the issues with a surrogate. “I will be the change agent,” said Dowell said at the debate. Sound familiar? Tillman’s daughter and staffer Ebony Tillman shouted back, “A white man agent!”

Which candidate do you suppose Senator Barack Obama would side with and support? Did Senator Obama endorse the racist candidate that was part of the establishment, supported Wal-Mart and Big Box Stores in the area not paying a living wage? Or did Senator Barack Obama side with the "agent of change" for the 3rd ward that was going to clean up the nepotism and crime that had flourish under Dorothy Tillman?

If you think his current stance on Wal-Mart and his pro-labor views are a core belief he's stuck with since his entrance into politics, you'd be mistaken. Senator Obama sided with the Daley machine, Wal-Mart and endorsed Dorothy Tillman.

"Fresh, independent-minded candidates, most helped by labor unions, forced 10 Machine aldermen into runoff elections this year. But now the "Empire" is striking back, and liberal icon Barack Obama is helping the Old Guard in at least one of those races.

Obama is set to endorse the always controversial 3rd Ward Ald. Dorothy Tillman in her runoff against hard-charging independent Pat Dowell. Obama isn't alone. Almost every black political, religious and civil rights leader in the city is lending support to Tillman, who scored just 43 percent in the first round of voting, finishing a mere 400 votes ahead of Dowell..."

Fortunately for Pat Dowell and residents of the 3rd ward Pat Dowell won even without the backing of someone as influential as Senator Barack Obama.

Now what of the Wal-Mart connection with Hillary Clinton? Author Bob Ortega says Senator Hillary Clinton:

"...used her position to urge the company to improve its gender and racial diversity. Because of Clinton's prodding, Walton agreed to hire an outside firm to track the company's progress in hiring women and minorities, Ortega said.

Clinton proved to be such a thorn in Walton's side that at Wal-Mart's annual meeting in 1987, when shareholders challenged Walton on the company's lack of female managers, he assured them the record was improving ''now that we have a strong-willed young lady on the board."

Clinton was particularly vocal on environmental matters, pressing the company to boost its sale and use of recycled materials and other ''green" products."

In the same article the Clintons are credited with convincing Sam Walton with keeping jobs in America:

"Throughout the 1980s, both Bill and Hillary Clinton nurtured relationships with Walton, a conservative Republican and by far Arkansas' most influential businessman. Among other things, Hillary Clinton sought Walton's help in 1983 for Bill Clinton's so-called Blue Ribbon Commission on Education, a major effort to improve Arkansas' troubled public schools. The overhaul became a centerpiece of Clinton's governorship. And Wal-Mart's Made in America campaign, which for years touted the company's sales of American products in its stores, was launched after Bill Clinton persuaded Walton to help save 200 jobs at an Arkansas shirt manufacturing plant. The Made in America campaign has virtually vanished in recent years, as the company's manufacturing has gradually moved overseas -- another point of criticism by many Wal-Mart critics."

Considering how he didn't mind collecting a paycheck from a Wal-Mart supplier and how he didn't have any qualms with endorsing the Wal-Mart Alderman I find his current position and accusations ridiculous. But that's Barack Obama for you.