In the aftermath of the meltdown of financial markets, as the media has called it, progressives and even some conservatives are putting the blame on the banks, mortgage developers and other speculators. No question: Those who sought to make billions in profits by gaming the system deserve the bulk of blame. They tried to get something for less than nothing, and now they are trying to increase their profits even further via a $700 billion bailout. This can’t be allowed, of course, but progressives have to demand that their partners in this crime be held accountable as well: the public, people who sought to get more than they could afford.

The American public can be blamed for much that has gone wrong in our country over the years. Let’s begin with the basics: They are stupid and proud of it. How many people educate themselves about the issues affecting their lives? How many listen to a balanced set of news sources, if they listen to any news at all? How many study an issue, just one single issue, in order to vote for the candidate who actually does represent their view on that issue and not the one with the most persuasive ads? Since we know that few in this country can raise their hand in the affirmative to these questions, we have to accept that sad, horrifying fact: Our country’s leaders are elected by stupid people.

Of whom, we also know, only a minority vote. Yes, we’ll have a large turn-out for the presidential race, but for all the other races? The “down-ticket” races, from Congress to state legislature all the way to local water district? The further down the ballot you go, the fewer voters you’ll find. And yet so many of these races have a tangible impact on people’s lives. School boards and even water districts make decisions that affect people in ways they can identify on a daily basis (or could identify if they were not so stupid).

It is a good and necessary thing for progressives to oppose a bailout that rewards those who created this mess. We do need to oppose a bailout that allows CEOs to collect huge compensation packages and golden parachutes. If the taxpayers are going to pay off these massive debts, then the taxpayers’ new ownership interests in these failed institutions have to be given priority. Treasury Secretary Paulson cannot be given the carte blanche that he is seeking.

But of equal importance, the idea that those who took the too-good-to-be-true mortgage deals are dupes and innocent victims has to be tossed aside with CEO rewards. It does not, as we like to say, take a rocket science for someone to compare their income to the cost of the house they are seeking to buy and realize the math can’t possibly work out. The free lunch is only free if you are expected to buy something else in exchange.

Too many Americans, and not just Wall Street bandits, want all the goodies with none of the requisite work. Hence, Americans are up to their eyeballs in credit card debt (and, for good measure, they let Congress get away with passing a credit card debt bill a few years ago that punishes ordinary Americans for having an overwhelming amount of credit card debit; more proof of their inherent stupidity). They vote for candidates who promise to cut taxes and increase services, as if the idea of “less money = buy more” makes some kind of sense outside the bizarro world of Wal-Mart (and is only an ad-driven illusion there, as well, of course). They refuse to save for a rainy day. Their children join the military for a few thousand dollars in signing bribes even though the possibility of not living long enough to use the money has become a tragic reality.

Americans, in short, are not just victims of the big mortgage and credit scams: they are willing players in the game. Yes, there are plenty who thought they were doing nothing wrong, who trusted experts. These people certainly do not deserve to lose their homes and life savings. And separating the two, the greedy and the real victims, is difficult, but we must at least make the necessary start at the necessary beginning place: “Ordinary” Americans as grasping and self-righteously greedy as the Wall Street robber barons.

We not only have a chance to clean up Wall Street; we can bring some long-needed sense and discipline to Main Street as well. Given that progressivism is about the need for average Americans to get involved in their society at the grassroots level, using the bailout to straighten-out the expectations and demands of grassroots citizens has to be as much a part of the package as ending the greed machines that are the focus of this crisis.