White House press secretary Ari Fleischer today ended his two-and-a-half-year tenure as the President's top spokesperson. The man who New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller wrote "often displayed the charm of a cold glass of water behind the briefing room lectern" looks forward to becoming a well paid after-dinner speaker and starting his own Washington consulting firm, Ari Fleischer Communications, that will advise corporate executives on handling the news media. The outgoing press secretary was notorious for dodging questions and thwarting aggressive White House reporters [3]. Corporate Crime Reporter [4] editor Russell Mokhiber documented his interactions with Fleischer, including today's press conference, in his online Commondreams.org feature "Ari & I [5]." Fleischer's longtime deputy Scott McClellan [6] will take over the press secretary duties.