Amanda Ripley Author of The Unthinkable

In case you missed it, the Secretary of Homeland Security was on Jon Stewart the other night. Most memorable part: Janet Napolitano’s laugh. The woman can laugh like nobody’s business. Like Santa on a bender.

She did plug the swine flu vaccine, and she said that the most frustrating thing about her job was managing 23 formerly separate outfits, located in 23 different places. Under pressure, she declined to reveal her security “code name.” But mostly, she laughed and laughed. I suppose it’s good to have a sense of humor in that job.