Adele Ferguson-REI’s Jewell: lots of frosting on bad cake

When President Obama nominated Sally Jewell of Kent for Interior Secretary Feb. 6, you would think that he had located the real Wonder Woman.

The 56-year-old CEO of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) was “A Jewell of a Pick” for “the massive job that makes her, by and large, the landlord of the Western United States,” The Seattle Times gushed editorially. She was “an inspired choice,” echoed Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Former U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, longtime member of the House Appropriations Interior subcommittee, told The Times he was “pleasantly...