Leaders have to allocate attention to detail based on the strategic importance of that detail. The innovative application completely supplanting traditional Election Day strike list processes? The CEO had better be assured that's going to work by several different checks, and by multiple sources. Even then he probably had better have some backups in place.
I voted for Romney and yeah, this does have me reconsidering just how competent he is.
Are we sure that Romney thought this system was that critical? It could be reasoned, for instance, that it was more of a fallback mechanism than anything else; it's not very likely fervent Romney supporters were just going to forget about Election Day. The article says the system was conceptualized by two deputies, and complex organizations like this one have many moving parts; it is entirely plausible, imo, that Romney saw this project as a relatively minor component of a much larger organization, something nice to have but not crucial. After all, elections have been won without similar systems in place before.
I dislike Romney and did not vote for him (or Obama), but I don't think this should necessarily be seen as a major strategic failure. Was this project going to get Romney the 1 million + additional voters he needed? It's hard to think that Romney believes that.
Serious politicians study GOTV the way serious generals study logistics. The technical capacity to maintain a supply line is a crucial strategic detail and is carefully monitored by the most senior military officers. They don't manage it themselves but they make quite sure that it is being managed and managed properly.
Several accounts state that Orca positively thwarted traditional Election Day GOTV efforts. Campaigns think those matter enough to put considerable effort into them. So yes, this could well have made the difference, and its failure does have me rethinking Romney's actual management ability.
I voted for Romney and yeah, this does have me reconsidering just how competent he is.