US President Barack Obama on Friday named Austan Goolsbee, a former economics professor currently working in his administration, to chair the White House's Council of Economic Advisors (CEA). At a White House news conference, President Obama named Goolsbee to replace Christina Romer, who departed last week to return to the academic world. Describing Goolsbee as "one of my good friends and close economic advisors for years," the President thanked Romer for her "outstanding" service. President Obama hopes Goolsbee's election experience and well-known communication skills will help Democrats avert heavy losses in November's congressional elections. A University of Chicago professor, he has been with President Obama since he served as an aide in the president's 2008 election campaign. "He's not just a brilliant economist. He's someone who has a deep appreciation of how the economy affects everyday people and talks about it in a way that's easily understood," President Obama said. Goolsbee's central task will be to head a three-member panel that provides advice based on economic research and analysis to the President on domestic and international issues. He has been serving on that panel and was the chief economist on the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which President Obama established to provide independent advice as he navigates the economic recovery.
