BREAKING

Dan Bartlett resigning from White House next month!!! (MSNBC)

Longest-serving Bush aide resigning
Dan Bartlett says he is quitting to go into private busines

WASHINGTON - Dan Bartlett, one of President Bush's most trusted advisers and his longest-serving aide, said Friday he is resigning to begin a career outside of government.

The move was announced on Bartlett's 36th birthday. He has been with Bush for nearly 14 years, from Bush's first campaign as governor of Texas, through two races for the White House and more than six years of a presidency marked by costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and an ongoing battle against terrorism.

As counselor to the president, Bartlett has been at the center of White House decision-making, stepping into the public eye in times of trouble to defend Bush on everything from the unpopular war in Iraq to the government's bungled response to Hurricane Katrina and the Republicans' loss of Congress.

To "Spend more time with his family", per David Gregory. heh. Seems a little fishy with only 18 months left in Bush's term.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais-Bartlett on right, Snow on left)