Chertoff's "gut"

I'm bewildered and upset by Chertoff getting everyone worked up with his oh-so-casual remarks today. It's like when Greenspan scolded the market for its "irrational exurberance" - what these guys say has a lot of influence over a lot of people. They need to be careful, they need to think twice, three times, before speaking. What is the point of frightening an entire country? It doesn't seem to be "political," but I wouldn't put it past the Bush administration.