A.I.G. Bonuses, Ethics, and the Rule of Law

Amid an escalating backlash over bonuses paid to The American International Group, AIG executives, President Barack Obama has said that he would accept the blame, though he also made clear the multimillion-dollar payouts weren't his idea. He said, "so for everyone in Washington who is busy scrambling trying to figure out how to blame somebody else, just go ahead and talk to me. I'll take responsibility; I'm the president."

AIG, which has received more than $170 billion in taxpayer bailout money from the Treasury and Federal Reserve, plans to pay about $165 million in bonuses to executives in the same business unit that brought the company to the brink of collapse last year. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told the firm they were unacceptable and demanded they be renegotiated, a senior administration official said. But the bonuses will go forward because lawyers said the firm was contractually obligated to pay them.

Whom do you blame most for AIG bonus issue? George W. Bush, Barack Obama, US Congress or someone else?

Should the US Govt ask AIG to pay the money back? How much?