Where's That Tech Czar Obama Promised?

Despite the recent slew of appointments to Barack Obama's administration, there is still no sign of who will drive the president-elect's ambitious tech agenda.

With Obama's inauguration just 11 days away, it is unclear who will fulfill the role of government Chief Technology Officer (CTO), a newly created cabinet-level position pushing the president-elect's bold IT plan.

The CTO, who will arguably become the most powerful geek in the world, will be responsible for dragging U.S. government IT into the 21st century, as well as delivering on Obama's promise to boost the tech sector.

The tech-savvy president-elect has a big technology agenda, including a $10 billion project for electronic health records, modernizing public safety networks, and making America the world leader in broadband penetration and Internet access.

Despite rumors that the CTO would be unveiled earlier this week, there is still no sign of the tech czar, although speculation is rife about who will assume the role.

The media has touted everyone from Amazon(AMZN Quote) CEO Jeff Bezos, to Internet guru Vint Cerf and even Microsoft(MSFT Quote) supremo Steve Ballmer for the role.

The blogosphere has even played up the credentials of Apple(AAPL Quote) media magnate Steve Jobs, albeit in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek fashion.

Google(GOOG Quote) chief (and vocal Obama supporter) Eric Schmidt has also been cited as a possible Washington CTO, although the executive has since publicly stated his desire to stay with the Internet giant.

With sections of the media apparently craving a "rock star" to drive government technology, at least one expert hopes that Obama will opt for experience over public profile.