[magicalist]

I seem to recall reading an article about healthcare.gov (maybe the time article) specifically mentioning that the CTO was kept separate from the project until things started to go wrong.

edit: well, it sort of says that, but doesn't offer much explanation:

> Zients, who is not an engineer, was teamed with Park, the White House chief technology officer. "On Oct. 17, I went from White House CTO to full-time HealthCare.gov fixer," Park says. The two were charged, says Zients, with "finding fresh eyes who could decide whether the thing was salvageable."

> ...Early on, Lambrew, highly regarded as a health care policy expert and advocate for medical care for the poor, kept Park off the invitation list for the planning meetings, according to two people who worked on the White House staff prior to the launch. (The White House declined to make Lambrew available for an interview.) The only explanation Park offers for his exclusion is that "The CTO helps set government technology policy but does not get involved in specific programs. The agencies do that."

http://time.com/10228/obamas-trauma-team/