Mr. Kempthorne goes (back) to Washington

Idaho's governor is trading in the statehouse in Boise for the cabinet room in Washington, D.C.

President George W. Bush today named Dirk Kempthorne as his next Interior secretary (click here for more details).

With so much of the West's lands falling under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, it makes sense to have a Westerner at the helm. Frankly, we need all the Westerners we can get in positions of influence, people who understand the importance of the wide open spaces and public lands to so many often conflicting interests like grazing cattle, hunting, fishing, habitat preservation and just flat-out scenic beauty.

We'll see what happens when Kempthorne gets thrown into the political gristmill of the Senate confirmation process. But at least he's been a senator before so he should have some idea what he's in for.

Cabinet appointment
The West
Interior Department