@BrianFaughnan calls this story ‘Flaming Skull’-worthy, and I am inclined to agree:

Software vendor Oracle provided information last week to the U.S. House and Energy Committee claiming the website was operational in February, but that the state of Oregon pulled the plug on it for political reasons.

[snip]

“Cover Oregon executives have stated to Oracle that the application functionality is sufficient to support individual enrollment,” Oracle president Safra Catz wrote in a letter addressed to Cover Oregon interim director Clyde Hamstreet and state CIO Alex Pettit. “However, Cover Oregon has not agreed to give individuals direct access to the application. Thus Cover Oregon, not Oracle, made the decision to keep the exchange closed to individuals even though the functionality has been delivered by Oracle.”

The allegation here – and it’s unusually blunt, too – from Oracle is that they were given the boot despite their allegedly eventually having a working system because: a, competitor Deloitte Consulting provided a self-serving analysis of the situation; and b, Governor John Kitzhaber is planning to run for a fourth term on how shocked, shocked! he is that there was incompetence going on at this establishment.  Katu.com says that the presentation didn’t point any fingers, but it’s hard how you define this:

“Oracle can only conclude that the Governor’s unwillingness to release the website is because doing so doesn’t fit with his re-election strategy of blaming Oracle for his own mistakes,” the presentation reads.

…as anything but pointing fingers. As I said, it was an unusually blunt presentation. Mind you, under the circumstances ‘blunt’ is exactly what a House investigation committee would appreciate.

So, who’s right? That’s the glorious part: they can all be weasels!  Oracle can be an incompetent Obama client company that had one job, and failed to do it. Deloitte Consulting can be another hanger-on in the Obama court that took the opportunity to do well with a well-placed shiv; and John Kitzhaber can be the abjectly ineffective governor who is desperately trying to get out from under the absolute worst disaster in the endless litany of failure that has been the Obamacare rollout. We don’t have to root for anybody in this mess, except maybe injuries: our opponents have apparently have decided to duel each other, using hand grenades.  All we need do is retreat to a safe distance, and start the popcorn.  If Oracle wants to take Kitzhaber down with it, well, ain’t that a shame.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: Remember, this is what John Kitzhaber thought was the proper way to do a state exchange:

[youtube]Xv2UUcXCo9g[/youtube]

Things ended up happening this way, of course:

[youtube]9hn61GoT2oA[/youtube]