On the plus side, at least we didn't get the obvious knee-jerk reaction BushCo would have done.

[HopeHoops]

"All passengers from Nigeria will be banned from flights originating in Nigeria". It makes about as much sense as having to take your shoes off because one idiot tried to light his shoe. The "in seat" thing is silly, but not quite up to BushCo stupidity standards.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. Disagree

Our public posture is better -- less grand-standing a fear-mongering.

But our specific policy response is every bit as reactive and thoughtless as the Bush administration's TSA.

[gratuitous]

2. Wait for it

A good portion of the coverage on NBC this morning was tut-tutting about how President Obama finally "broke his silence" on the incident from his Christmas vacation. The subtext was that for 48 hours or so, we were all in horrible, terrible danger because President Obama hadn't rushed out in front of a camera to "reassure" the American people that blah, blah, blah. Somebody may feel pressured to say or do something stupid yet.

Another thing I noticed was the original statement from Napolitano that the system had worked was walked back after all sorts of skepticism voiced by the popular media. Of course, the system hadn't worked, but it's hard for the United States to enforce the most paranoid security measures the pants-wetting brigade can think up in other countries. But I thought it was interesting that the talking chuckleheads no longer just accept administration pronouncements at face value, even when reality is highly contradictory. I can't quite put my finger on exactly when that happened, but I seem to recall that it hasn't always been the case, even as recently as one year ago.

[earthside]

3. A Premature Judgement, Perhaps. n/t

[ixion]

4. no. It's just as stupid as BushCo

and in fact goes further since the stupid BushCo standards are still very much in place.

[HopeHoops]

7. The last time I was in an airport, I didn't notice a "NO BARE FEET" sign.

The next time I fly, I'm just going to show up without shoes or socks, just to mess with their heads. "I CAN'T remove my shoes. They're in my checked bag."

[timeforpeace]

5. What do you call the new regulations? And Napolitano's "the system worked" claim? Epic fail.

[liberal N proud]

6. Thus the outrage from the right