If it's this bad all over the USA then you are most certainly on the way to a major air travel meltdown.
From personal experience, spanning over 25 years, I have always found the USA as a country of extremes. Authorities, aviation or other, just don't have the ability to gauge responses to problems appropriately. They either ignore them or over react in a big way. I fear that inappropriate responses to the present problem will have more negative impact on the immediate future of U.S. aviation than that of the original cause.
After the initial kneejerk and OTT nonsense that was also implemented here in Europe immediately post 11/9, I'm now back to checking in 45 mins prior to departure with the minimum of fuss and delay. With the exception of a few minor security changes all is almost normal again. Well, at least from the airports I use.