Backtracking on the Road to Corporate Reform

"There's not the same kind of righteous indignation about corporate behavior and Wall Street papering over it," Gabriel said.

The problem, as corporate critics see it, is that the reform battle isn't over. Shareholders still have little control over CEOs and boards. And executive pay -- an important indicator in the minds of many corporate critics -- continues to spiral upward.

To be sure, the reform movement hasn't died out completely. On July 14, the SEC approved a plan that would require hedge funds to register with the agency and give the SEC the power to periodically review the books of particular funds. Last month, the SEC adopted a rule that will require mutual funds to be headed by independent chairmen and an increasing number of independent directors.

Furthermore, some reform advocates vow to keep holding corporate directors' and executives' feet to the fire.

"What's indisputable is that business is pushing back hard," said Rich Ferlauto, the director of pension and benefit policy for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. But he added, "We haven't stepped back from our agenda at all. There's no going back."