Many of President Bush's 3,000 political appointees are struggling to find jobs as they leave office because of the ailing economy and a lack of desire among some employees to hire people from an administration with a reputation for incompetence and cronyism.

Mr Bush himself is fine. He told a biographer recently that he will "give some speeches, just to replenish the ol' coffers" — he has assets estimated at $27 million (£16.8m) — and will move to Dallas, Texas, where he will work on establishing his planned Freedom Institute.

Referring to speech making, he added: “I don't know what my dad gets — it's more than 50-75” thousand dollars a speech, and “[Bill] Clinton's making a lot of money.”

Yet Mr Bush added: “I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the [Crawford] ranch."

Condoleezza Rice, his Secretary of State, is set to become a political science professor and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution think-tank, run by Stanford University, where she was Provost before joining the Bush administration.

Dick Cheney, after 40 years in Washington, hinted earlier this year that he might write a book after leaving the vice-presidency. He is expected to go into semi-retirement, and spend more time with his fly-fishing rod. He is a passionate angler.

Yet many lower-level members of the Administration are finding the job market tough. Traditionally, the legions of outgoing troops from a departing government flock to Wall Street, or into Washington think-tanks or lobbying firms. Members of Bill Clinton's team had little difficulty landing post-government employment.

This year, however, the financial sector is stricken, banks have been partially-nationalised, lobbying firms have less work, and think-tanks are already bursting with talent. Head hunters for the corporate world estimate that there are 25 per cent fewer jobs available in management firms this year.

A report in the Wall Street Journal last week suggested that Margaret Spellings, Mr Bush's Education Secretary, had indicated possible interest in running a company after she leaves her department. But an industrial business looking for a chief executive refused to even consider her because of her lack of corporate experience, and personal ties to Mr Bush. She is a close friend of the president who advised him when he was Governor of Texas.

Many post-government destinations such as think-tanks and academic institutions are run as charities, but they are feeling the cold wind of the gathering recession and have hiring freezes — even for those with White House experience. Many Bush appointees are believed to be taking pay cuts just to stay employed.

Some senior members of the Administration will find the transition unproblematic. Carlos Gutierrez, the Commerce Secretary, was the former chief executive of the Kellogg empire and is still a sought-after commodity.

Henry Paulson, the outgoing Treasury Secretary, has had a rocky few weeks since the near-collapse of the country's financial sector, but will walk back into a senior role in Wall Street, where he was the chief executive of Goldman Sachs before joining the Administration.

Steven Hadley, Mr Bush's National Security Adviser, is expected to return to the law. Before entering the White House, he was a partner in the Washington, law firm of Shea & Gardner and a principal in The Scowcroft Group, the international consulting firm run by Brent Scowcroft, the former National Security Adviser to Gerald Ford and the first President Bush.

The one senior Bush official tipped to stay on in his job — whoever wins the presidency — is Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary. He has impressed officials in both parties and will likely oversee an increase of US troops in Afghanistan.

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