The 4th Amendment doesn't really apply, give me a ******* break. You have to look at the 4th in context --> there was NO MASS TRANSIT at the time. Public transport, etc.
Nor was there radio or television during the Foundation Era, yet the First Amendment applies to these media as well. And just today the Court ruled on the use of GPS to track criminal suspects, a technology clearly not in existence during the 18th Century.
The 4th Amendment does indeed apply to the TSA and screenings:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Is the States desire to search passengers boarding airliners reasonable, does the State have a compelling interest to do so? The answer is yes, to address possible terrorist attacks.
Is there sufficient evidence TSAs methods are effective to realize that interest? Here the answer is no.
This of course doesnt mean the TSAs method is illegal or un-Constitutional, but certainty poorly implemented.
The State has a legitimate concern with regard to terrorism, its remedy is seriously lacking, however. Does flying on a commercial airliner in of itself constitute probable cause? How does the herding of cattle method used by the TSA meet the 4th Amendment requirement of particularly describing the place to be searched? Not to mention the requirement of a warrant to search in the first place.
That the majority wishes to surrender its freedom for security doesnt justify an un-Constitutional act; and the right of citizens to access public airways isnt mitigated by their use of private airlines and airports.
The TSA and its methods are clearly an unwarranted overreaction to 9/11, as already correctly noted there are as effective if not more so methods of search which are less likely to constitute a privacy violation. But its ultimately up to the American people to demand such change, it wont come from a government whose politicians are obviously afraid of being perceived as soft on terror by the voters.