Could the PS3 be a factor in the 2008 presidential campaign?

Could be, following reports that former North Carolina Senator John Edwards asked a local Wal-Mart store to help him obtain one of the hard-to-find consoles. The PlayStation 3 is launching today amidst long lines and severe retail shortages.

As first reported by the AP, Wal-Mart officials said that an aide to Edwards had made the PS3 request. The 2004 Democratic VP nominee and likely 2008 candidate for the White House initially denied the story, but later admitted that a staffer had contacted a local Wal-Mart about the next-gen system. Edwards says that happened without his knowledge.

Here's how it played out:

On Wednesday Edwards criticized the giant retailer while participating in a conference call with labor activists from WakeUpWalMart.com. Company officials claim that on the same day an Edwards staffer asked a Wal-Mart store in Raleigh to hold a PS3 for the ex-Senator. Edwards denied the charge:

Elizabeth and I don't shop at Wal-Mart. We haven't been in a Wal-Mart in years. We instructed no one to contact Wal-Mart on our behalf.

GP: That's a carefully-worded statement that is not really a denial.

Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar wouldn't name the staffer who supposedly made the request, but told the AP the caller left a voice mail saying he worked for Edwards. Company officials confirmed that he was an Edwards staffer by calling back. The retail giant subsequently issued a statement accusing Edwards of trying to use his status to obtain a scarce PS3:

While the rest of America's working families are waiting patiently in line, Sen. Edwards wants to cut to the front.

A follow-up AP story published last night reports that the former senator now acknowledges that the volunteer did contact the Wal-Mart for help in obtaining a PS3 for Edwards' family.

My wife, Elizabeth, wanted to get a Playstation3 for my young children. She mentioned it in front of one of my staff people. That staff person mentioned it in front of a volunteer who said he would make an effort to get one. He was making an effort to go get one for himself.

Elizabeth and I knew nothing about this. He feels terrible about this. He made a mistake and he knows he should not have used my name.

The volunteer was "a young kid," Edwards said, who was unaware of the likely presidential candidate's criticisms of the chain. Edwards said Wal-Mart was trying to shift attention from its own problems.

The AP reports that earlier this year Wal-Mart hired a new P.R.director, and a more aggressive posture toward critics was expected.