$700 Billion [To Start With] Bailout Explained

To those who matter (that would NOT be you and me), by none other than the Treasury Department (emphasis mine):

• Purpose is to help private sector clean up their balance sheets.

• [W]e have encouraged healthy institutions to participate, not just bailouts of sick institutions.

It's possible that the current situation might require some type of government intervention. I don't know yet because, despite reading any bit of information I could get my hands on (not to mention the hundreds of, mostly, informative comments at Calculated Risk), I haven't been able to assimilate and analyze all the information and reach a conclusion.

I don't know if the government "needs to do something or we'll all go out in a puff of smoke (and mirrors)." What I do know, is that the current bailout scheme is not it. As such, any politician who votes for this scheme loses my vote.