Below The Beltway

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff spoke yesterday at a Hertiage Foundation Conference titled “‘24′ and America’s Image in Fighting Terrorism“, where he made it clear that he’s no Jack Bauer.

WASHINGTON — Take it from Michael Chertoff: The Homeland Security Department is no “24.” Chertoff, the department’s secretary, said Friday he doesn’t have a way-cool, state-of-the-art Counter Terrorist Unit like the one on the Fox TV show. Bad guys aren’t foiled on an hourly basis. And not everybody is romantically involved with co-workers.

So by the time the clock stopped on a two-hour panel that included “24″ cast members, Washington policy wonks and Rush Limbaugh, some mythical similarities between the show and the government’s counterterrorism campaign had been debunked. And that was none too soon for Mary Lynn Rajskub, who plays techno-chick Chloe O’Brian on “24,” and clearly had her fill of those who take the show a mite too seriously.

This is the first time I’ve seen Chloe referred to as a “techno-chick”, but the name fits. I like it.

Chertoff did say that there was one similarity between the fight against terrorrism in the real world and the lives of those working at CTU-Los Angeles:

In one parallel between Homeland Security and the show, Chertoff spoke of the challenges in “trying to make the best choice with a series of bad options.”

Characters on “24″ constantly face situations “where there is no clear magic bullet to solve the problem, and you have to weigh the cost benefits of a series of unpalatable alternatives,” he said.

“That is what we do every day.”

Other panelists made it clear that some Americans appear to have a problem separating televised fiction from reality:

Gregory Itzin, who plays the nefarious President Charles Logan, said he has had to defend himself from one or two people “about the fact that the show does have torture issues and how could I live with that.”

“It’s a show!” he said. “I’ve done Shakespeare and have killed people with a sword.”

That may be true, but when you cross Jack Bauer, people tend to remember Mr. President.

And, in one final chilling comment, its made clear that, while Jack Bauer is cool, we can’t depend on the government to save us if the worst happens:

David Heyman, a homeland security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said “24″ may give the public a false impression of how fast and easy it is to battle terrorists and other threats against the nation. Agreed Heritage’s James Jay Carafano: “If we’re waiting for Washington to do something before we can start saving lives, we’re all going to die.”

Since Jack is a man who always takes care of things personally, I’m sure he’d agree.

Full-length video of the conference is available here.