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One of the most disgusting aspects of the $700 billion financial bailout was the preening and chest-pounding of some members of Congress.

After the Senate passed the bailout last week, several members stepped up to the microphones to crow about their achievement.

Their message was: Look what we did. Look how great we are. We did our job.

The hot air swirling around the press conference area at the Capitol must have felt like a furnace fan blowing through the halls.

The senators spent more time patting each other on the back than talking about how this would help American families who are trying to make ends meet. Maybe that's because they don't really know how it will benefit anyone. They just needed to pass something - anything - fearing that the credit crunch would hamper small businesses and consumers in getting loans.

They talked about how impressive it was that the Senate came through in a time of crisis. If we can't count on our elected officials in a time of crisis, when can we?

Whether they "came through" in this crisis or not is yet to be determined. No one knows if this $700 bailout bill will work - not the president, treasury secretary, top economists, etc.

The uncertainty of the plan prompted U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, to vote against it.

"Over the past two weeks, I have talked with numerous people with first-hand experience working in the financial markets, economists and the Treasury Department," he said. "My conversations have led me to believe there is no consensus this is the right, best or only solution to the problems the markets are experiencing."

How can we trust anybody anyway? Bush administration officials, including the president, have been saying for months that the economy would be fine. Then, all of a sudden, it's an emergency that Congress pass a bailout plan.

Members of Congress aren't any better. This whole fiasco has highlighted the enormous failings of our past and present elected leaders - both Republican and Democrat.

Where were they before all of this happened? Where was the congressional oversight of these institutions? Could it be that members turned their head as lobbyists representing the industry filled their campaign coffers?

There's plenty of blame to go around - investment and mortgage firms, irresponsible borrowers and lenders and greedy CEOs who would do anything to make a buck.

We need an extensive FBI investigation to find the true culprits in this financial mess. The collapse of Enron will be minor compared to this when it all shakes out.

Meanwhile, members of Congress are asking Americans to trust them on the bailout. Even so, those same members express uncertainty about the bailout plan.

The word used most often by our leaders for the bailout plan is "hope," much like a desperate quarterback who hopes that his receiver catches a 60-yard Hail Mary pass in the end zone as the final second ticks off the clock.

"This financial crisis will negatively affect everyone in this country if no action is taken, and it is my steadfast hope that this legislation will calm the fear and uncertainty that have gripped our lending markets and enable us to implement deeper structural reforms that prevent a crisis of this magnitude from ever reoccurring," said U.S. Rep. Michael Conaway, a Republican from Midland who represents San Angelo.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told the Standard-Times editorial board last week that "I hope it works" but acknowledged it would take time before the bailout's impact is felt.

Cornyn and Conaway were among members of Congress who essentially held their noses and voted for the bailout plan. Cornyn even referred to the plan as "offensive" and "unpopular," but he and others believed that the consequences of inaction were too severe. Who knows, the consequences of their actions might be worse.

In any event, many economists are predicting that it will be the middle of 2009 before we see any sign of an improving economy, even with passage of the bailout.

Hold on to your pocketbooks because economists also say the bailout is a good first step in a long recovery of our economy. What does that mean? Perhaps another taxpayer-backed bailout in the future?

Cornyn said Congress has been "asleep at the switch," which begs the question whether any of them should be re-elected. No one should be surprised that the job approval rating for Congress is at 15 percent, according to the most-recent CBS News poll.

This Congress needs a scrubbing from one end to the next, and it starts with finding new leaders.

Ty Meighan is editorial page editor of the Standard-Times. Contact him at (325) 659-8227 or tmeighan@gosanangelo.com. To comment on this column, visit gosanangelo.com.