Does it really take a mega-defense contractor such as Boeing, a company known more for building aircraft and missiles, to construct a border fence? Apparently so, when Uncle Sam is contracting out the work — and when what’s being contemplated is a “virtual fence,” employing not aluminum and razor wire, but all manner of space-age wizardry. You can’t get anything that cool by hiring Acme Fence Builders.

CongressDaily reports that work on a virtual fence along the U.S.-Mexico border has been delayed because Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, the prime contractor, has yet to integrate all the gadgetry to the satisfaction of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, despite $20 million spent. “I am not going to buy something with U.S. government money unless I’m satisfied it works in the real world,” Chertoff said last week. “And if it can’t be made to work, I’m prepared to go and find something that will be made to work, although I’ll obviously be disappointed.”

We applaud Chertoff’s refusal to keep throwing money at a virtual fence that isn’t panning out. It’s a welcome departure from the usual way of doing things, in which the contractor’s lobbyists and political allies pressure Congress to pour even more money into the faultering program. But why, oh why can’t the federal government just keep things simple: in this case, by opting for Acme Fence Builders instead of Boeing?

That’s not the proverbial $64,000 question; it’s the $20 million question. And counting.