Turnabout is fair play

If you have an online subscription to the New York Times, check out this story. If you don't, here's the first paragraph, which sums up the situation very nicely:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration has approved oil and natural gas drilling on federal lands in the Otero Mesa in Mew Mexico, despite pleas from the state's governor and environmentalists to protect the desert grassland from energy exploration.

Interestingly enough, this is just the opposite of what President Clinton did in creating the Grand Staircase Escalante Monument, which led to praise from environmentalists, but received complaints from the local population.

I guess Presidential Authority is only a good thing if you like what the president does.