The Pickens Platform

Matt Cooper reports from Denver: T. Boone Pickens is here. I saw him at The Big Tent, the venue sponsored by Google and Digg, and the base camp for many of the bloggers at the Democratic conevntion. The billionaire repeated the basics of his "Pickens Plan" to promote natural gas and wind power to wean America off of foreign oil.

The most interesting thing was Pickens' presence here at all. Four years ago, he was one of the financial backers of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign that dealt a mortal blow to John Kerry's presidential bid. Today, Pickens says he's politically neutral. He's pitched his plan to Barack Obama and John McCain, both of whom have expressed support for some of the ideas in the plan.

Pickens was joined on stage by Carl Pope, the head of the Sierra Club and a supporter as well as John Podesta, the former Clinton chief of staff and founder of the Democratic think tank The Center for American Progress. But don't think Pickens is some neo-lefty. He defended the oil company and chalked up rising oil prices to the world market and not speculation.

More ominously, for the rest of us, Pickens predicted oil rising to $200 or even $300 in the next two or three years. Given the fortune Pickens has made tracking energy prices, that's a bet worth noting.

One funny moment for the day: At one point, Pickens started talking about Swift Trucks and how they replace much of their fleet every 2 1/2 years giving them, and us, an opportunity to use more natural gas. Podesta had to step in and clarify that Pickens was talking about Swift Trucks and not Swift Boats.

Matt Cooper

Photo caption: Barack Obama laughs as he meets with T. Boone Pickens on August 17 at the Sierra Grand Resort in Reno, Nevada. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Get a daily fix of how politicians, business leaders, and others in the news are faring with the Portfolio.com Capital Index.