I travel alot and don't have too many problems with the TSA= I'm not sure what airports the rudeness factor is prevalent. However, it does seem at the smaller airports it gets kind of ridiculous. I recently waited in a long line at Louisville airport where they had only one checkpoint open out of 4. The checkpoint that was open had over 6 people working at it! They literally had someone performing a job and another person to watch him/her perform the job.
That being said. Instead of blaming the actual TSA agents, the blame goes squarely on Bush- who's bright idea it was to federalize airport screeners. That began my dislike of him and his administration. Moreover, it was under his watch that all these cheesy rules went into effect (plastic ziplock bags, 3oz liquids, take off the shoes, laptop in separate bin, show the boarding pass to two people ect.)
That being said. Instead of blaming the actual TSA agents, the blame goes squarely on Bush- who's bright idea it was to federalize airport screeners. You are correct that Bush capitulated and signed off on this portion of the bill, but it is erroneous to say it was his idea.
Almost every Democrat in Congress demanded the provision to Federalize (and hence, unionize) the screeners be inserted into that portion of post-911 legislation. Republicans from the Administration and Congress said it would lead to a bloated, brutish, rude, and inefficient Federal airport gestapo, but the GOP leadership in Congress was too timid or weak to stop it. The buzz words of those heady days were "safety", "immediate action", "public good", and "cannot wait."
Now, these clowns are wearing badges that they "made up" so that they would look more authoritarian to a public that was not acting like a beaten dog with its tail between its legs. The badges are a joke, and TSA knows it - they just wanted them to play dress up cop.
It was a huge mistake, and we will be paying for it forever.
