Gale Norton, Bush's Secretary of the Interior, wrote in her resignation letter, "There will never be a perfect time to leave…"

No argument from me. The perfect time for resignation passed long ago and, like most members of the Bush Cabinet, Norton failed to recognize the opportunity to do the right thing.

Interior Department philosophy swings between an emphasis on environmental protection and one focused on development of public lands, depending on the party in power. GaleNortonAbramoffSigned

James Watt, Reagan's lightning-rod of a Interior Secretary, represented the "developers" to an extreme.

During the Clinton years, Bruce Babbitt - former head of the pro-environment League of Conservation Voters - fought to charge users more for cattle grazing and mineral mining, and expanded national monuments and protections for other federal lands.

Bush, wanting to tilt the balance in favor of the "developers" again and forever on the make to link his image to the Gipper's, succeeded wildly when he discovered Norton - a former employee of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, the "environmental" organization Watt founded when he left office. 

Recently, William Pendley, president of the Foundation extolled Norton, "Gale Norton brought integrity, honesty, and a cheerful spirit to the tough job of Interior secretary."

National Association of Manufacturers president John Engler lauded Norton for her "dedicated efforts" to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil and gas exploration and development.

With incestuous backing like that, it' s no surprise that most environmentalists considered Norton "the fox guarding the hen house," as Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope put it.

Norton managed to significantly increase oil and gas leases in the Rocky Mountain region, to the point where some conservative ranchers joined with environmentalists in criticizing the expansion.

During Norton's tenure, even retired National Park Service officials began speaking out against what they see as the commercialization of what used to be the nation's "crown jewels."

But, it wasn't her exploitation of pristine lands set aside to preserve, "in perpetuity", the character of America that led to Norton's resignation. It was her department's even dirtier dealings with Casino Jack.

Last summer it was reported that Abramoff claimed in 2002 e-mails that he had an inside track to influence Norton's decisions. Those emails revealed that Norton's then-deputy secretary, Steven Griles, had pledged to block an Indian casino that would compete with one owned by an Abramoff client. Abramoff later told two associates that he was trying to hire Griles as a reward.

Another of Norton's environmental good deeds prior to joining the Bush administration was to found the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy which bubbled up as yet one more connection to Abramoff.

Casino Jack tried to influence Interior's casino decisions through Italia Federici, head of CREA, whose causes, coincidentally, include oil drilling in ANWR and property-rights protections.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, chaired by John McCain, has gathered evidence showing that Abramoff had his tribal clients donate some $500,000 to CREA with the expectation that this would help them gain access to Norton.

Ms. Federici and Norton deny any undue influence. Of course, neither were under oath.

Oh, and a footnote: Gale was caught stealing six microwave burritos by a Georgetown 7-11 security camera.  She claims she merely slipped the steaming hot burritos inside her shirt in an effort to stay warm. "Washington can be a very cold place," Norton said while being led away by DC Metro police.

Ye gads! How much more of this kind of honesty, integrity and cheerfulness can the country tolerate?