I have no feeling about T. Boone Pickens at this time. But your headline suggests that the Republicans lost a backer who would be supporting Obama's campaign. Apparently that is not the case. Some of us who do not support Obama and find him to be a very dangerous candidate and tired of the media blatant and backhanded support of this person.

All T.Boone wants to do is sell his natural gas--the rest is just deceptive fluff.

Unsurprisingly, "The Plan" calls for centralized -- and no doubt publicly-funded but highly-corporatized -- "wind facilities".

That about sums it up.

That's not to say that wind energy is a bad idea, it's not. He's just trying to do the typical Republican thing, make public the cost (and risk), privatize the profits.

He now wants to save it. Nothing inconsistent there. What, he didn't see Dubya was a buffoon and incompetent in 2004? Hell, I thought you'd have been able to see that from outer space.

For all the "Pickens is wily like a fox" comments the real truth here is that the rich aren't smarter or more sophisticated or more deserving or harder working than the rest of us - they're just richer.

AND he's a Texan! Care for some t-bone pickin's?

T. Boone Pickens sounds like a character from Dr. Strangelove.

I guarantee Pickens has an angle. The T is not for Treehugger. I bet he has some wind leases and wants some government breaks to make them profitable.

If the 56 million that Pickens is spending on ads and his lobbying with congress results in waking up sleeping Americans, especially status quo Republicans, then I have no problem with his profit as long as those in his company can fairly share in it. Obviously, the price for gasoline and oil is making his efforts easier.

and several other Vietnam vets, a cool $1 million apiece.

Which has got to put into the political donations slush fund.

Pickens knows McCain is a liability. Obama has very strong ties to Agri-business. The only way corporate America will be able to rebuild the economy in this country is to literally get the place in better shape, infrastructure wise.

He knows that it will still be a monumental battle to drill offshore in California. Lawsuits on top of lawsuits. Everyone from the Sierra Club to attorneys facing views of oil derricks from their multi million dollar homes will be suing to stop this. Gubernatorial candidates will be pushed and bullied by locals, wealthy campaign donating locals, not to support offshore drilling.

Pickens just made a major investment lasoo-ing the powerful winds of Texas. Wind Farms mean big TAX BREAKS and potential big profits. Why piss off a future president Obama by backing a hack who has no idea what the hell he's doing when you can make investments in an industry the Dems are sure to claim as 'their territory'? If Pickens makes an actual donation to Obama's campaign, it means he's being backed by rich Repugs. That's a scary thought.

Careful. One of these days, someone might report you to the SPCS (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Strawmen).

We don't like him so even if he says things we 100% agree with, he's wrong and must be ignored.

who owns all the land that the federally funded wind farms will go on? Could it be....no, surely not but.....

Repeat after me, REPUBLICANS ARE EITHER CROOKS OR SUCKERS.

And Mr. T. Boone is no sucker.

If you want to know why Pickens has chosen now to announce his support for wind energy, you need look no further than the fact that he's invested heavily in rights to put up wind farms on a lot of West Texas land, and that one of the items Texas is currently debating is whether taxpayers should finance a large number of heavy duty transmission lines from West Texas to the energy/population centers in Austin/San Antonio/Dallas/Houston in the other parts of the state.

Obviously Pickens is going to support wind power if he thinks he can buy up the property rights for a song, then have the taxpayers build the transmission lines to make that property useable.

Granted, having him pull a fast one to build wind farms is better than his previous behavior, but it's still a lesson in how to take advantage of others to make money.

I'm happy to see a shift even if it's in his own best interest. And It's refreshing to see someone jump ship for a cause they believe in over political politics.

Backing from the Sierra Club isn't all that indicative, these days. I understand they've been at least somewhat co-opted.

I won't be satisfied until a good number of the republican goon squad take their own lives in mass suicides, 3rd reich stylee. That's usually how these kinds of people end up.

It's true that T. Boone Pickens has done things in the past that have royally pissed me off. He's also done some truly compassionate things such as rescuing animals and reuniting them with their owners after Katrina and trying to prevent the slaughter of horses for consumption in other countries.

I saw his ad on MSNBC and went to the website. It makes sense. I understand the Sierra Club is also on board with the Pickens Plan. I joined, too despite the fact that I will forever be angry over the Swift Boat Veterans for "Truth".

Energy shouldn't be a partisan issue, although I think the Democratic Party is probably less fearful of moving in a new direction. John McCain hasn't even been supportive of creating a solar industry in Arizona, so I'm dubious of any lip service he plans to deliver on the subject of alternative energy resources.

If Pickens and Gore can rally their supporters to demand that changes be implemented immediately, then Wall Street will begin to pay attention and the government will follow suit. Both men understand that this effort will require the will of the people.

Isn't this a technology in which the United States wants to be a leader? Doesn't this represent new opportunities? How's the status quo working for you? Happy?

One thing is certain, drilling for oil is now looking about as viable as whaling.