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Harry Reid wants to ‘burn’ Chinese-made Opening Ceremony uniforms

To add insult to hideous berets, the Opening Ceremony uniforms made by Ralph Lauren are entirely manufactured in China, a fact which caused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to say that the U.S. Olympic Committee should "burn" the uniforms.

ABC News discovered the origin of the clothes after purchasing the full uniform from a store in New York:

The "Made in China" tag led Reid to say, "I think the Olympic Committee should be ashamed." And because he wouldn't be a successful politician without a little grandstanding, Reid advised the USOC on what to do with the outfits. "Put 'em in a pile and burn 'em," he told reporters. "If they have to wear nothing but a singlet that says 'USA,' that's what they should do."

House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also came out against the uniforms, but toned down the rhetoric. Boehner said, "You'd really think they'd know better."

"They should be wearing uniforms made in America," Pelosi said.

They're all correct. The Olympic uniforms should be made in the United States, not in China. "Made in the USA." That's the way we want our athletes, the clothes they wear and the cars they drive. No one fundamentally disagrees with this. But we live in reality. Outsourcing is an unfortunate way of life in the United States. We can hem and haw, but unless serious changes are made to various laws and regulations (ahem, Senate and House Majority Leaders), this is the way it is.

If you're going to burn every item worn by Olympians that isn't "Made in the USA," then LeBron James and Michael Phelps would be competing in the buff. This is a worthy cause but not a practical application. The only thing more frivolous would be to criticize the commercialism of the Olympics.

Now, please, my iPhone has been ringing off the hook and I have to go charge my iPad in my Honda before I meet a friend for sushi.

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