Last night, the White House announced that Obama's top economic adviser, Austin Goolsbee, will step down from his position this fall to return to teaching at the University of Chicago. Coincidentally, this morning, The Washington Post led their front page with polling news that American's disapproval of how the president is handling the economy has reached "new highs" as the bin Laden-bounce finally dissipated.

Goolsbee, notes National Journal, was the face of the "White House White Board" project, which saw the Council of Economic Advisers Chairman relaying economic news and trends for the general audience. It was a mostly endearing exercise for pundits who enjoyed watching the adviser cover the resurrection of GM or explain the meaning of tax cuts. This fall, he'll be returning to the real white boards at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business where he had taught for fourteen years before joining the president's team.

Here's the president's statement from the White House release:

"Since I first ran for the U.S. Senate, Austan has been a close friend and one of my most trusted advisers...Over the past several years, he has helped steer our country out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and although there is still much work ahead, his insights and counsel have helped lead us toward an economy that is growing and creating millions of jobs. He is one of America's great economic thinkers."

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Erik Hayden