Judgment on November 10, 2008: Eric Schmidt has publicly stated that he will not accept a national CTO position if asked.  Judged at 0%.  Who will the new CTO be?  Make your suggestions in the comments below, and we will open up a new bet. -- The Industry Standard

Original Prediction:

Early in president-elect Barack Obama’s campaign, he discussed creating a new cabinet-level position for chief technology officer (CTO). 

This new public servant would, first and foremost, be tasked to deliver strategies to create more technology jobs. 

The CTO would also be dealing with net neutrality, nationwide broadband, creating more H1-B visas for foreign engineers, among a host of other issues.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Google CEO Eric Schmidt began stumping for Obama.

Prediction:  Will Eric Schmidt be named Obama’s pick for CTO?  Schmidt will need to accept the position in order for this prediction to be judged favorably.