For my money the reason we all have such a hard time, crew and pax alike, especially at US borders, is that the people manning the desks are low paid, low esteem blobs who have official sanction for being nasty.
Security is still !!!!e at the back door. It always will be while outsourcing continues to be the management mantra.
Things being seen to be done will always be the policy, The tombstones are still relatively small in number despite the enormity of Sept 11. The risks are still low compared with, say, driving. If you want reasonable but effective security get rid of the bean counters and the politicians.