when things are really bad, you can't even get the rats to board the ship in the first place:

Treasury Staffing Woes Continue The Wall Street Journal reports two candidates "for top jobs at the Treasury have withdrawn their names from consideration, complicating already troubled efforts by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to staff his department at a time of economic crisis, according to people familiar with the matter." Annette Nazareth, "who was expected to be tapped as deputy Treasury secretary, and Caroline Atkinson, who was being considered to oversee international affairs, have both taken their names out of the running, these people said."