Billionaire Pickens Says Obama Lacks Energy Plan

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens says President Barack Obama has failed to develop the energy plan he promised Americans as a presidential candidate in 2008.

The oil magnate and booster of alternative fuels said at a town hall meeting Friday at a Pennsylvania university that the Democratic president hasn't followed up on a campaign promise to end America's reliance on Mideast oil within 10 years. But Pickens said Republicans also have been remiss in tackling the problem.

Obama has pushed for clean energy standards and funded renewable energy projects, but many of his proposals have stalled in Congress.

Pickens spoke at a town hall meeting at West Chester University, which uses natural gas-operated vehicles. He also defended fracturing, a drilling technique that Obama and others say might pollute groundwater.