"Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail. (Applause.) This could allow you to go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying –- without the pat-down. (Laughter and applause.)" — President Obama, State of the Union Address, January 25, 2011.
"Raid reveals Bin Laden eyed U.S. trains" — headline, USA Today, May 5, 2011.
I am not recommending that the Transportation Security Administration extend invasive pat-downs to Amtrak or to the New York subway system. But in retrospect the president's promotion of trains as the low-security travel option seems a little misguided, no?