“In a major break with most other large companies, Wal-Mart said Tuesday in a letter to President Barack Obama that it supports a move to mandate health insurance coverage by employers. ‘We are for an employer mandate which is fair and broad in its coverage,’ said the letter, signed by Wal-Mart Chief Executive Mike Duke. Also signing were two prominent liberals: Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, and with John Podesta, former Bill Clinton chief of staff and head of the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank. The move ‘flabbergasted’ the National Retailer’s Federation, according to the Wall Street Journal.” (07/01/09)