Ah, Sir? Please Use The Revolving Door. It's Easier That Way.

Barack Obama's conflict of interest policy prohibits appointees from working on subjects "directly or substantially" bearing on the subjects of their former jobs. The policy's a little hazy when it comes to non-paid advisers to the transition.   Consider the case of Gerry Salemme, an executive vice president of the Clearwire telco products firm.

According to the online trade journal Ars Technica, Salemme is using his stored up vacation days to serve as a key adviser to the Obama transition on telecom issues and the digital television transition.

Salemme's name is nowhere disclosed on the list of official advisers, and he's not being paid.  ArsTechnica's reporters say that Salemme met last week with members of Congress to discuss a delay of the DTV transition.

Salemme is a telcom exec who is helping the transition; his name and identity hasn't been disclosed. His firm, Clearview, has a financial interest in the end result of the telecom wars, including, quite probably, the DTV transition.

There's nothing illegal or hinky here; it's nearly impossible to do the work of government without these sorts of... well, call them efficiencies.

Here's another: the Washington Times today reports on ex- IA Gov. Tom Vilsack's recent ties to a green energy company called MidAmerican; Vilsack, set to be the Secretary of Agriculture, will play a considerable role in helping the Obama administration plot out its green energy strategy; some of its actions are bound to benefit companies like MidAmerican, and Vilsack will probably have to recuse himself any type of activity that encoraches upon MidAmerican's considerable turf.