The calls went out across the nation, as Bush administration officials asked the country’s most seasoned disaster-response experts to consider the job of a lifetime: FEMA director.

But again and again, the response the past several months was the same: “No, thanks.”

“You don’t take the fire-chief job after someone has burned down the city unless you are going to be able to do it in the right fashion,” said Ellis Stanley, general manager of emergency planning in Los Angeles, who said he was one of those called.

Try to find an eligible candidate who feels the Bush Administration is competent or cares about an effective FEMA.

The same lack of fiscal oversight, predictable reliance on cronies, continues.