Pickens: I'll help Obama or McCain on energy plan
Posted: Thursday, August 21, 2008
LINCOLN (AP) -- Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens said Wednesday that he'll help whoever is elected president in November to solve the nation's energy problems, politics aside.
"I'm the general that has analyzed the problem," the longtime conservative activist said .
The high cost of energy has emerged as a central campaign issue, and Pickens said he recently volunteered his ideas to both parties' presumptive presidential nominees, meeting Sunday with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and on Friday with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Obama took lots of notes, Pickens said. McCain was very sensitive to how energy affects national security, Pickens said, while Obama was more interested in the economy.
Pickens spoke in Lincoln to more than 1,000 people as part of a $58 million nationwide tour to promote a plan that calls for erecting wind turbines in the Midwest to generate electricity, replacing the 22 percent of U.S. power produced from natural gas.
The freed-up natural gas then could be used to power vehicles now reliant on gasoline and diesel. That would cut dependence on foreign oil, Pickens said, and serve as a bridge for 20 years or so until other technologies such as hydropower and battery power can be improved.
"We've been wandering around -- this country has on energy -- for 40 years like a fool with no plan," Pickens said.
The cheap price of oil in the past took away incentives for the United States to seek alternatives, he said, and now the nation gets 70 percent of its oil abroad.
Obama has praised Pickens as a "legendary entrepreneur," despite the fact that Pickens spent $3 million during the 2004 presidential campaign to help bankroll the Swift Boat organization. The group ran television ads questioning the Vietnam record of that year's Democratic presidential hopeful, John Kerry. The ads were believed to have damaged Kerry in several battleground states, contributing to his narrow loss to Bush.
Democrat Scott Kleeb, who's running for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Chuck Hagel, said he takes Pickens at his word on the promise of nonpartisanship -- even as Pickens met in the next room with Kleeb's Republican rival, Mike Johanns.
Kleeb's campaign asked for a meeting with Pickens, but was told there was a scheduling conflict. A Pickens representative said the meeting with Johanns wasn't political, and Johanns, former U.S. agriculture secretary and Nebraska governor, said he'd been trying for some time to speak with Pickens.
"I'm the general that has analyzed the problem," the longtime conservative activist said .
The high cost of energy has emerged as a central campaign issue, and Pickens said he recently volunteered his ideas to both parties' presumptive presidential nominees, meeting Sunday with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and on Friday with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Obama took lots of notes, Pickens said. McCain was very sensitive to how energy affects national security, Pickens said, while Obama was more interested in the economy.
Pickens spoke in Lincoln to more than 1,000 people as part of a $58 million nationwide tour to promote a plan that calls for erecting wind turbines in the Midwest to generate electricity, replacing the 22 percent of U.S. power produced from natural gas.
The freed-up natural gas then could be used to power vehicles now reliant on gasoline and diesel. That would cut dependence on foreign oil, Pickens said, and serve as a bridge for 20 years or so until other technologies such as hydropower and battery power can be improved.
"We've been wandering around -- this country has on energy -- for 40 years like a fool with no plan," Pickens said.
The cheap price of oil in the past took away incentives for the United States to seek alternatives, he said, and now the nation gets 70 percent of its oil abroad.
Obama has praised Pickens as a "legendary entrepreneur," despite the fact that Pickens spent $3 million during the 2004 presidential campaign to help bankroll the Swift Boat organization. The group ran television ads questioning the Vietnam record of that year's Democratic presidential hopeful, John Kerry. The ads were believed to have damaged Kerry in several battleground states, contributing to his narrow loss to Bush.
Democrat Scott Kleeb, who's running for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Chuck Hagel, said he takes Pickens at his word on the promise of nonpartisanship -- even as Pickens met in the next room with Kleeb's Republican rival, Mike Johanns.
Kleeb's campaign asked for a meeting with Pickens, but was told there was a scheduling conflict. A Pickens representative said the meeting with Johanns wasn't political, and Johanns, former U.S. agriculture secretary and Nebraska governor, said he'd been trying for some time to speak with Pickens.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
