Ralph Lauren is in trouble with the Internets. Some bloggers seem to think the designer's opening ceremony clothes for the US Olympians were offensive, heralding his iconic Polo horse more than the iconic Olympic rings. We say big deal. How this is any different than every other day in America in which corporations are triumphant over amateur dreamers? But Jeff Koopersmith at the American Politics Journal is outraged:

Of course, this is typically American: create something combining taste and quality, and then reduce it to rubble it by advertising where you bought it – and how much you paid.

In this case, however, Lauren has literally paid a high price – for the Olympic license to produce the American team’s replica togs. Olympics licenses cost a fortune.

Yet the IOC continues to portray the Olympiad as a “pure” sporting event celebrating the best athletes on earth - not a place for blundering materialism. This seems especially poignant given that the United States is closing in on its fourth quarter of recession and more family homes are being reposessed than bought.

I propose that along with drug testing labs, we have logo-testing experts who make certain the logos are hidden.

Adding insult to materialism, Lauren included with the outfits an instructional booklet on how to walk and speak in Polo clothing, thereby heading off the shame of his wares draping the plebeian skin of a gold-medalist who says he thinks he "did good" in his race.