Is Mea Culpa the Default Disclosure Policy?

Amit over at Digital Inspiration had a nice wrap-up post on the elite bloggers who took Microsoft Ferrari Laptops pre-loaded with Vista. Disclosure of the $2000 blogola (er, review machine) wasn't required: Some disclosed, some didn't. Some think it's fine, some think it's not.

After the flare-up and Microsoft/Edelman (you know, the guys on probation by WOMMA) PR clean-up, some bloggers will keep the free laptop, some will send it back, some will donate it and one will re-gift to his wife (nice). Diverse bloggers, diverse disclosure approaches, diverse conflict resolution -- what's a reader to do?

Given that most of these bloggers don't have linked Disclosure Policies on every page, how would readers know what to expect? Without a Disclosure Policy, elites decide on a case-by-case basis how to diffuse any negative reaction. Is that sufficient or sustainable?

If those bloggers had Disclosure Policies that detailed their affiliations, what they do with free products and how they disclose, then audiences would know what to expect of their trusted blog sources. Without a Disclosure Policy framework, the emerging conflicts standard for the elites sounds like mea culpa...