American Idol star Clay Aiken is set to be appointed to President George W. Bush's White House disability committee. The singer, who finished a runner-up to Ruben Studdard on the second season of the hit TV talent contest, is a winner in Bush's eyes after years of working with handicapped and disadvantaged kids in his native North Carolina.

Aiken will be named to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities in the coming days, when the President will make the appointment official. The organization is a committee set up to advise US politicians on issues concerning citizens with intellectual disabilities.

Aiken once worked as a counselor at YMCA camps for kids with special needs. He also studied special education in college and co-founded a charity for disabled children.

The appointment to Bush' committee could not have come at a better time for Aiken - his new covers album, A Thousand Different Ways, is released on September 19.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)