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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano did the rounds on the Sunday shows to address the botched Christmas bombing. (Catch up on Wire coverage of the terror attempt here and here.) She stressed the safety of air travel, and repeatedly said in an upbeat tone that "the system worked" and "everything happened that should have." Far from calming travelers, Napolitano's line has rubbed many people the wrong way, giving administration critics something to latch on to. Even on the air, interviewers gave her a tough time. See Jake Tapper's tough questioning on ABC News here, and CNN's clip below.

Fire Her, says Jonah Goldberg at the National Review. "That the attack was 'foiled' by a bad detonator and some civilian passengers is proof, she claims, that her agency is doing everything right ... If the White House wants to assure people that it takes the war on terror seriously (a term Robert Gibbs used this morning by the way), they could start by firing this patenly unqualified hack."

'The System' Means Hoping That Bombs Fail to Go Off, Ed Morrissey flays Napolitano at Hot Air. "Is that the actual system we put in place after 9/11? Because if it is, a lot of heads need to roll, starting with the woman who believes that this near-miss represents a validation of the system."

Heroic Passengers Are Not 'The System,' writes T Blumer at Bizzy Blog. "The only thing that 'worked' is Jasper Schuringa, and he's the one person in the whole affair (with an assist from the flight attendants and other passengers) who isn't part of 'the system.'"

It Worked, After It Didn't, says Tommy Christopher at Mediaite. "She prefaced it all by saying 'Once this incident occurred,' which is a lot like bragging about how well Trojans work after your girlfriend is pregnant."

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