Obama Meets With T. Boone Pickens, Avoids Swift Boat Question

RENO, Nev. — Democrat Barack Obama met Sunday with Texas oil baron and longtime conservative activist T. Boone Pickens to discuss strategies for developing alternative energy.

The presidential hopeful praised Pickens as a "legendary entrepreneur" and deflected a question about the billionaire's role in helping to fund a television ad campaign that undermined John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee.

"You know, he's got a longer track record than that," Obama told reporters when asked about Pickens' association with the ads by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. "One of the things I think we have to unify the country around is having an intelligent energy policy. ... That's what we're going to be talking about."

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Pickens spent $3 million to help bankroll the Swift Boat organization, a group tied to supporters of President Bush that ran television ads questioning Kerry's record as a swift boat commander during the Vietnam War. The ads were believed to have damaged Kerry in several battleground states, contributing to his narrow loss to Bush.

Today, Pickens is bankrolling a much different kind of campaign. A critic of U.S. dependence on oil and a champion of wind power and other alternative energy forms, he has vowed to spend $58 million to promote his "Pickens Plan," which calls for the U.S. to generate 22 percent of its electricity through wind and other sources.

The high cost of energy has emerged as a central campaign issue between Obama and his Republican rival John McCain. Pickens met with McCain in Colorado last week to discuss his plan and requested a similar meeting with Obama. The two men talked privately for about 45 minutes, campaign officials said Sunday.

Comments

[Shannon2008]

Mr. McCain, as long as you're a US Senator, you should support offshore wind farms.

WINDFARM OFFSHORE HERE NOW.

It's a shame that Europe has 4 times the MW capacity in offshore wind farming and the chinese have 5 times more capacity under construction than us. I guess they know how to invest our money than we do.

[PAposter]

T. Boone Pickens will go from Billionaire to Gazillionaire! Sure hope he not being offered big tax breaks like with the oil.

[kellygrrrl]

count on it!

[TrueThis]

I guess it's time to put the past behind us and find a solution to the oil crisis. Good for you Obama for having the courage to cross the party lines for the American people.

[PAposter]

I'm glad he's speaking to Pickens as well, I just have a problem with private corporations monopolizing our natural resources. Just doesn't seem right.

[armadillious2002]

Without private Corps spearheding the change from fossil fuels - it will never get done.

[diogeron]

Pickens reneged on his pledge to pay $ if any of the Swift Boat claims were disproved, which most were. Having said that, let's fight this fight, not the last one and at least he's speaking about a comprehensive energy plan, as is Obama. McCain's plan to "drill, drill, drill" is just more of the same drivel we've heard since the energy crisis of the late 70s, more of the McSame.

Let's put Obama in the White House and break the dependence on foreign oil once and for all. Then, these thugs in the Middle East can shake somebody else down. It's our own fault for being so short sighted and no president since Carter has even seriously tried to do anything about it. Bush has even aggressively done everything he can to increase our dependence on foreign oil. If Boone Pickens can help, I'd say we, as a nation, are not in a position to ignore him.

[Dave01]

Lets NOT stop at our dependence on foreign oil, the true answer is to end our dependence on OIL as a source of energy period.

[PAposter]

...and let's not get so excited, that we allow locals to shake us down like the Saudis.

[Fremon]

Amen!

[harriscrl3]

You know it always frankly piss me off how Rethuglicans dont pay for their sins. These folks are responsible for the energy crisis that we have they are responsible for giving us the worse president ever unless of course we are further cursed with McBush and then we are suppose to embrace them because they fianally see what democrats and progressives have been saying for a long time. I understand why we need to do it but it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I hope that there is a day of reckoning for people like T Boone for the disaster that they have brought on this country their continuation of 4 more years of FASCISM. I hope there is a special HELL on earth for them. Me I'll choke on the idea that maybe we can do something about energy but I wont embrace these people they will forever be the scum of the earth to me and I hope come November rethuglicans are made to pay for their deeds I hope every single last one of them is booted from Congress. Yes I'm still BITTER and PROUD.

Carol

[castlerider]

Right on, Carol. I hope your wish comes true, and am doing everything myself to try to convince everyone I know to follow this path to victory.
An excellent program to watch and tell others about was Bill Moyers last show, which was excellent. This great author he interviewed, , a very intelligent and learned luitenant colonel puts our recent history in a nutshell that is so effective to behold and reason upon. A true patriot. Check it out.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08152008/watch.html

[chitown8]

I watched this and googled Andrew Bacevich. He is a supporter of Obama. He might be on the VP short list.

[YenNguyen]

I agree with you. And yet the best defense an individual has against ideology that closely resembles facism is to to inform other voters.

I've often thought that the Founding Fathers are turning in their graves to see their pragmatism leading to such ideological fervor as seen in the Republican party these days.

We only have to look at other countries, such as China and USSR, who were so bent on their ideology to see how prosperous they were during those Communist times.

[Shannon2008]

John McCain spent 25 years voting for big oil companies and against new energy sources. He is so responsible that its upsetting to hear that idiot say drill here drill now. He shouldn't even be a US senator. He should be thrown out with Stevens as member of the US Senate that have been on the take from oil companies. His economic advisor Phil Graham played a central role in the Enron scandal. It's just ridiculous.

T. Boone's right. This is a problem we can't drill our way out of.

Mr. McCain, as long as you're a US Senator, you should support offshore wind farms.

WINDFARM OFFSHORE HERE NOW.

It's a shame that Europe has 4 times the MW capacity in offshore wind farming and the chinese have 5 times more capacity under construction than us. I guess they know how to invest our money than we do.

[schicklett3]

I'm with you, Carol.
We can help by getting out the vote come November - speak out and speak up often!

Vote Smart - Obama '08!

[KOisGod]

Just remember O, you may swim with sharks, but you never know when they decide you are just dinner.

[NoSandwiches]

he's not swimming with the sharks.
He's inviting the sharks to the table to discus how to save the ocean because it is in their own self-interest and helps all the creatures of the sea

umm....I hate metaphors.

[Coinyer101]

pickens already knows that we cant drill here,drill now,and solve the energy crises.mcc­ain just didnt get it.

[JackND]

I doubt either wanted to discuss it, so why would they?

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Stop living in the past and fight for the future. We can change nothing about the past. But we can learn from it and ensure that we don't ever elect another trust fund brat as a president.

[Coinyer101]

i guess mr. pickens didnt like what he heard from mccain,so now he wants to talk to the real 'expert' on green energy.mcc­ain says drill here,drill now.picken­s says you can drill all you want.it wont make a difference.

[keepemhonest]

I wonder if Picken thinks McCain is just pandering when it comes to energy? Boone is a smart man & I'm sure he can see right through McCain's ignorance on economic issues.

[AllenD]

McCain sure repeated the Pickens talking points last night during the "debate."

[Shannon2008]

Everything except the line "This is a problem we can't drill ourselves out of".