Members of Congress are falling all over themselves to express outrage at the $165 million bonuses paid to executives at American International Group, the troubled insurance giant that got billions in bail-out funds from the American taxpayers.

The bonuses went to the very people who put AIG in peril. That’s ridiculous. The mounting outrage is richly deserved.

But one reason the leaders of Congress - from both parties - are howling in unison is to cover up their own mistakes. These are the very people who let the bonuses happen. Many are guilty of hypocrisy in the first degree.

Indeed, some of the leaders now bashing AIG as arrogant and greedy helped strip provisions limiting so-called “retention bonuses” from the bailout plan when it was being drafted. And many of those were major recipients of AIG political contributions.

Congressional condemnation of AIG rings hollow at best. They may not have known the extent of the bonuses, but officials at many levels, including members of Congress and officials of the Treasury Department and regulatory agencies, knew bonuses were coming. Their lack of oversight and absence of foresight amounts to a colossal outrage.

The scary part is this could be the tip of the iceberg. In the stampede to “save” the economy, taxpayer “stimulus” money is heading willy nilly in a million directions. It’s only a matter of time until we start hearing of waste, graft and misuse of funds on a grand, possibly unprecedented, scale.

Look for Congress to be outraged then, too.

President Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner haven’t exactly distinguished themselves on the AIG issue. Along with Sen. John McCain, President Obama got buckets of AIG campaign money in 2008 - sums he now is considering returning. And days after assuring the American people that Treasury knows where “every dime” of the bailout money is going, members of the administration now say they ‘weren’t aware’ of the AIG bonuses until it was too late.

It’s worth a reminder that the scale of the bonuses, while astonishingly excessive, is nothing compared to the “investment” by the U.S. taxpayers, who now “own” about 80 percent of AIG. Talk about a Catch 22. If this controversy further weakens AIG, we all lose. Big time.

The various “fixes” bandied about amount to closing the barn door after the horses have escaped. Punitive taxes on the 200 or so executives are most likely unconstitutional - and would set a scary precedent.

The best thing would be for AIG execs to return the money voluntarily. Some will, some surely won’t.

But whatever happens, taxpayers should reserve a heaping helping of outrage for Congress.

Instead of hustling up to every microphone, we suggest Congress spend more time in front of mirrors.

Take a good look at yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, as you wag those fingers in manufactured outrage.