(FORTUNE Magazine) – The post-Irangate departures of high-level officials such as Deputy Treasury Secretary Richard Darman and Navy Secretary John Lehman raise fears of a President bereft of his best and brightest. Not to worry. Says presidential personnel director Robert Tuttle: ''People still want to serve this President.'' Ironically, the Iran-contra scandal has helped White House recruitment efforts, though jobs often go begging at the end of a two-term presidency. With his Administration threatened, Ronald Reagan was able to attract a fresh team led by chief of staff Howard Baker. Outside the White House, the Administration has mostly filled high-level vacancies from within. Replacing Darman is M. Peter McPherson, a former administrator of the Agency for International Development. Taking CIA director William Casey's place is former FBI director William Webster. About a dozen candidates are vying for the FBI job. Secretary of the Navy Lehman's successor is assistant secretary for reserve affairs James H. Webb, a Marine combat officer who has written best-selling books on Vietnam. Replacing assistant secretary for international security policy Richard Perle is fellow hard-liner Frank Gaffney Jr., a top Pentagon official. Openings are hotly contested on independent commissions, where terms will extend beyond November 1988. Currently, a battle rages for the chairmanship of the Securities and Exchange Commission, vacated by John Shad, who has been nominated ambassador to the Netherlands. Among the contestants are Tuttle; Arthur Levitt Jr., chairman of the American Stock Exchange; U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Duffy; and Edward Fleischman and Charles Cox, both Republican members of the commission.