Hot Job After Working for Obama: 'Unlobbyist'

The Obama administration is Washington's most fertile incubator for influence peddlers or political fixers or industry association representatives. Whatever you call them, don't call them lobbyists. Five years after the president issued an executive order barring his former appointees from lobbying the executive branch, dozens of administration officials who've left to take jobs representing corporate interests are getting around the ban by not registering as lobbyists, instead branding themselves as consultants or policy advisers. Lenient federal rules let them duck the lobbyist label as long as they avoid direct communication with government employees on behalf of clients. Instead, they offer colleagues and customers an inside view of the administration's thinking, detailed advice on how to frame arguments to people in the White House and Congress, and names and numbers of the best officials to approach. That can earn former presidential aides 5 to 10 times their government salaries.