While they wait at La Guardia for their flights back to God-Man's country, GOP delegates might want to peruse this audit (that's a PDF, don't say you weren't warned) featured on Al's Morning Meeting at the Poynter site (you have to scroll down a bit, past the Halloween-costume story) and now breaking into the papers.

Published by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General, it's a bit chewy but it's hard to miss the fact that the background checks on applicants seem to be more than lenient (161 of 504 recently cleared applicants were found by the IG to be problem cases -- not quite a third of the total), and that while the training looks pretty rigorous on paper, it's widely variable among different field offices, and there's evidence that many air marshals don't complete the required training.

That's all aside from the more sensational details about specific problems with individual marshals, as highlighted here, for example.

Incidentally, while I hope that reporting on this helps give the lie to the notion that the Bush Administration has been effectively making this country safer, I do note that Homeland Security IG Clark Kent Ervin, while a former White House staffer under Bush I, a well-connected Texas politican, and a December recess appointment to his current job, did sign off on a report which, released in an election season, doesn't make his boss look good. So, bully for him.