Top Bush Economic Adviser Steps Down

(AP)  President Bush announced on Wednesday that Keith Hennessey will become director of the National Economic Council, replacing Al Hubbard, who is joining a growing line of top presidential advisers exiting the White House as the Bush administration heads into its final year.

Hennessey, who came to the White House in 2002, is Hubbard's deputy and has been deputy to two previous directors of the council. He served as a top budget aide to Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., and worked for the Senate Budget Committee.

"Keith has been an important member of my White House team for more than five years," Mr. Bush said in a statement. "He has served as the deputy to three directors of the National Economic Council, and has worked on a broad range of economic policy issues."

Hubbard's departure comes as Mr. Bush faces one of the biggest economic challenges of his presidency, a severe slump in housing and a credit crisis that have roiled financial markets and triggered fears of a recession.

In a letter to the president, Hubbard said he was leaving the White House at the end of the year with mixed emotions. "Were it not for my strong desire to spend more time with my kids, I would not have considered departing," said Hubbard, the father of three. Hubbard wrote that the Bush White House was a place of "forthrightness" and "mutual respect" in Washington, which is "often portrayed as an arena of deception and self-promotion."

Hubbard has helped direct White House policy on entitlement reform, energy security, climate change, housing and trade investment policy. Among other issues, Hubbard has been deeply involved in the debate over the State Children's Health Insurance Program and Mr. Bush's proposal for a major shift in tax policy to, for the first time, treat health insurance costs as taxable income.

"Al contributed his own ideas and also worked to ensure that all views were brought to the table and given fair analysis and debate," Mr. Bush said. "While many of the policies Al worked to develop are in place today, other policy initiatives, including Social Security reform and health care reform, have laid the foundation for policies I believe will be adopted in the future."

Hubbard's departure, by the end of the year, continues an exodus of key Bush aides and confidants. Earlier this month, Fran Townsend, Mr. Bush's terrorism adviser, announced she was stepping down after 4 1/2 years. Top aide Karl Rove, along with press secretary Tony Snow, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and senior presidential adviser Dan Bartlett, have already left.

Hubbard, of Indiana, was a low-profile economic adviser to the president whose strength came from his closeness to Mr. Bush. The two both attended Harvard University together. Hubbard also has close ties with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Hubbard accompanied Paulson on some of his trips to China to lend White House support to efforts to get China to reform its economy and narrow the huge trade imbalance between the two nations.

The National Economic Council was created in the Clinton administration to coordinate economic policy. The first NEC director was Robert Rubin, who went on to become Clinton's Treasury secretary.

Hubbard took the post at the beginning of Mr. Bush's second term, when the administration had high hopes for achieving success on a number of such major issues as addressing Social Security's funding problems and overhauling the tax code. However, as Mr. Bush became mired in problems involving the Iraq war, his domestic initiatives failed to make headway in Congress.

"Al brought to this job more than the creativity that he's known for," said White House press secretary Dana Perino. "He has a great booming laugh, but he also is a very honest broker when he works with everybody at the White House. Part of his role is to incorporate all of the thoughts and concerns and proactive ideas that members of the administration have."

Hubbard first met Mr. Bush when they both attended Harvard's business school in the 1970s, getting MBA degrees. Hubbard, who later became president of E&A Industries, an Indianapolis investment firm, has owned and operated several businesses and served in the Bush-Quayle administration as executive director of a council on competitiveness. He has not yet announced his future plans.

[simonsez40]

Good Riddance - could our idiot leader resign - geez if only we could get that lucky!

[sgtrds]

What bothers me the most is the part of this story that says Bush''s term is "winding down". As long as that SOB has his finger on the nuclear trigger and is still looking for another war in Iran the bas***** bears close watching and is not "winding down".

[forthepeopl1]

hes done a great job for bush and cheney, f-him cant wait until the book..

what joke this country has turn into



BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovak and Hungarian police seized a kilo (2.2 lbs) of radioactive material and arrested three people in a joint operation on Wednesday, a spokesman said.

Slovak police spokesman Martin Korch said the material was being examined and did not confirm a report carried by the Slovak news agency SITA that it was enriched uranium.

"This one kilogram should have been sold for one million U.S. dollars," spokesman Martin Korch said.

The spokesman said the police raid took place along the eastern part of the two central European countries'' common frontier, near their borders with Ukraine.

"Three people have been taken into custody, two in Slovakia one in Hungary," he said. "Further information will be provided tomorrow."

Uranium enrichment can yield either fuel for nuclear power stations, or be used for nuclear warheads.

[bwessels]

Uh, JetRanger, you kind of look foolish making three posts calling people "MORANS." Kind of like a moron. :-)

[bwessels]

So a key player in trying to deny children health benefits under S-CHIP retires to spend more time with his kids? Now THAT is ironic. He would also like to tax health insurance costs. What a humanitarian.

[tylenol6]

Another Bushie bites the dust. "I just want to spend
time with my family." Oh, give me a break.

[jetranger7]

This is another MORAN IDIOT that should of been Fired, instead of being able to collect his government benefits at YOUR Expense ! You can bet the benefit package is fairly good, and at your expense, so, hows your benefit package stand compared to this idiot ! Just Another BUSH/CHENEY - MINION !! Should od been fired !

[rowdytexan2]

Hahahaha!

They''re all getting tired of listening to themselves think, while they carry out Mr. Bush''s and Mr. Cheney''s neoncon fantacies. They''re pro''bly all thinking, what''s the point of wasting and 14 months of their lives. Their instructions were from the outset to cut every nickel from the budget that didn''t trickle up into their pockets. It was a real no-brainer job anyway.

[jetranger7]

Well there ya go, Hubbard and BUSH met at the Harvard School of Business back in the 70s, in otherwords, he got the job, not because of his intelligence or smarts, but because of the good ol'' boy network, no wonder this countrys in such a mess, with Idiots and MORANS like this in Washington, this Idiot-Moran is Clueless and dumb as Tuck ! Gimme a Break ! I wouldn''t leave this guy in charge of a Sand Pile !

[jetranger7]

I liked the part of what all this guy did and his duties, reread the article again, in charge of housing, economic development,climate change and Trade Investment, what was this Idiot doing, on the Golf Course most of the time, heres another FLUNKY that has contributed to this Countrys Problems ! CBS should investigate this MORAN, and find out what he actually did the past 4 to 5 years, he doesn''t seem to bright to me, and should be Questioned over his decisions fully ! This seems as corrupt as the rest of em'' !