NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Wednesday he would serve another term as central bank chairman if President Bush nominated and the Senate approved him.
Bush said Tuesday he intended to re-nominate Greenspan, 77, who was recuperating from "routine and successful" prostate surgery Tuesday afternoon.
"The president and I have not discussed this, but I greatly appreciate his confidence," Greenspan said in a brief statement. "I have been privileged to be appointed by five presidents to various positions. If President Bush nominates me, and the Senate confirms his choice, I would have every intention of serving."
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 President Bush said he would back Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan for another term. CNNfn's Tim O'Brien reports.
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Greenspan, who was appointed by President Reagan in August 1987, is widely viewed as a "maestro" of economic policy, having guided the U.S. economy through the 1987 stock market crash, the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, the 2001 terror attacks and other crises.
"I believe history will judge him as one of the strongest and most constructive of the Fed chairs," said former Fed Governor Andrew Brimmer, now president of Brimmer & Co. in Washington, D.C.
Greenspan has, however, taken some criticism for failing to recognize or to do anything to stop the stock-market bubble that grew in the late 1990s, and some accuse him of speaking out too often on subjects outside his purview.
His support helped the Bush tax-cut plan pass in 2001, which angered many Democrats. But recently he angered many Republicans by arguing against the latest Bush tax-cut plan, worth about $726 billion, saying the economy didn't need it and that it could harm the budget.
His warning may have contributed to Congress deciding to cut the Bush plan in half, and some observers wondered if Bush might be inclined to replace Greenspan when his term ends on June 20, 2004.
Instead, Bush expressed confidence in the central bank chairman -- in contrast to supporters of Bush's father, who accused Greenspan of costing the first President Bush his re-election bid by moving too slowly to help the economy in 1990-91.
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Under the law, Greenspan must leave after his term as Fed governor, which is a separate position from his chairmanship, expires on Feb. 1, 2006. If he completes that term, he will have served more than 18 years, making him one of the longest-serving chairmen in history, second only to William Martin, who served for nearly 19 years.
Since Fed governors can continue to serve until they're replaced, if Bush wanted to keep Greenspan around a little longer, he could take the highly unusual step of simply not nominating a governor to take Greenspan's place. Or he could push Congress to change the law.
Few analysts expect Bush or Congress to do such a thing, however.
"The fixed terms are there for a purpose, and that is to protect the independence of the appointee," Brimmer said. "I don't think they ought to change the law."
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