Oilman Pickens Meets With Obama on Alternative Energy

RENO, Nevada — 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 George W. Bush that ran television ads questioning ... (link)