The gall of Kempthorne!

Dirk Kempthorne rivals the baddest of the bad in the Bush Administration, but instead of quietly slithering back under the rock he crawled out from (Idaho), he used his last press conference not to offer an apology to imperiled species but to BRAG about what he's accomplished. Oh, please!

Kempthorne disputed the contention that his office has rushed modifications late in Bush's final term. [Sure, 9 seconds per comment was plenty.]

He said he gave ample warning about the impending Endangered Species Act changes when he listed the polar bear as a threatened species in May due to receding sea ice, but refused to endorse the 1973 law as an instrument to regulate climate change. His role as the Bush administration winds down was akin to that of a quarterback in the waning minutes of the Super Bowl, he said.

"If you're to play in the entire game, you're to do what you've been asked to do," Kempthorne said. "Until Jan. 20, I am the secretary of Interior and I work for you. And I'm not just going to sit on the sidelines."

Uh-oh. That means the next fourteen days could be catastrophic. Hold tight to your seat and stay tuned.