The airport administrator for DCA is taking over the job at IAD. He seems to be a pretty good guy from interviews I've read... so maybe there's hope for an elite security line at IAD, too. One can certainly hope!

Since DCA is currently only a 5-10 minute drive for me, I prefer flying from there (and security at DCA is much easier to clear--no lines wrapped around the terminal 2-3x and blocking access to the ticketing counters!) However, since UA only flies to ORD and DEN from IAD, and many of the cheap fares valid out of IAD don't work for DCA (although a lot do), I often do have to make the drive out to IAD. If you can easily get to the airport access road (the non-toll lanes of 267), getting to and from IAD is fairly easy even during rush hours; I can usually drive from there to my office in Rosslyn at 7:30 in the morning in forty minutes or so--and all the traffic is in getting off 267 and onto/along local roads.