Perhaps reluctant to endure the sort of criticism he received after hiring former lobbyists for executive branch jobs, President Obama in recent weeks has sought most of his administration appointees from academia, think tanks, non-profits and state government, Roll Call reports.

At the Treasury Department, for instance, Obama's recent picks for two critical jobs are former senior Clinton administration officials - Neal Wolin as deputy Treasury secretary and Lael Brainard as undersecretary of Treasury for international affairs.

Those selections follow Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's installment of former Goldman Sachs lobbyist Mark Patterson as his chief of staff, a move that raised complaints that the new president was breaking his vow to stop the "revolving door" between the executive branch and the private sector that he claimed was corrupting power with money.

"They've been afraid to hire lobbyists ever since," Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told Roll Call. She added that "there are some people who are not working who probably would be good. Not every lobbyist is an evil person." Sloan also said that those who work as "consultants" for D.C.-based firms - but who aren't registered lobbyists - can still get jobs in the administration, while those lobbying for environmental causes - "and presumably pushing polices that Obama admires" -- cannot.

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