Keller @ Large: Rational Thought In Short Supply

BOSTON (CBS) - Jeh Johnson, the secretary of Homeland Security, is cautioning us to "not rush to judgment" on the story of the apparently mentally-ill man who got inside the White House Friday with a knife, not to mention the arsenal of weapons and ammo outside in his car.

That's going to be difficult.

In order to comply, we'll have to try to forget about the Secret Service's recent history of rank incompetence and irresponsibility, including the fiasco in Colombia two years ago when agents in charge of preparing security for a presidential visit were caught mixing it up with local prostitutes; the three agents found passed out drunk while on assignment in the Netherlands earlier this year; or the agents assigned to White House security caught just last May doing unofficial security work elsewhere.

But don't worry, Mr. Secretary, we won't let our lying eyes watch the video of the intruder running unimpeded across the White House lawn and entering the building through an unlocked door, just minutes after the president and his family had left, and draw any untoward conclusions.

However, I will say this – rational thought needs to be returned to our homeland security policies as quickly as possible, because they appear to be in short supply.

At least the TSA seems to be ordering fewer random pat downs of 97-year-old grandmothers at airports.

But then you see fiascoes like the use of tanks to quell a street disturbance in Ferguson, Missouri, and on a smaller scale, the inexplicable decision to continue to bar visitors to the John F. Kennedy statue in front of the State House, and you realize – we still haven't figured out how to balance real security needs with basic common sense.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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