T. Boone Pickens, a frequent Matter Network subject, has been ramping up his energy policy campaign (and pimping his book), showing up on two of the most-influential TV shows in existence. While some may question his motives or the details of his plan, you can't deny that he's getting more air time than Sarah Palin right now.

Last Wednesday, Pickens made an appearance on The Daily Show, where success often depends on matching wits with Jon Stewart. T. Boone -- who has his detractors and had his Prop 10 defeated in California  -- proved to be pretty quick on his feet and easily won over the audience. About the energy issue, he told them "This is your problem, not my problem" because "I can make it to the finish line. I'm 80 years old." Near the end of the interview, Stewart said to Pickens "I feel like right now, I and the rest of my audience, would follow you out the building."

Then on Sunday, the billionaire spoke on Meet the Press. He brushed off reports that Pickens would have to scale back his record-setting wind farm plans: "it doesn't mean the end of it, it's been postponed is all it is." To support that assertion, he noted that the first wind turbine won't even be delivered until 2010.

Pickens also said that he can find common ground with Al Gore, calling natural gas a "bridge" to a battery-based transportation system. Finally, T. Boone professes no regrets about oil, saying that we used it because it was cheap and laying blame at the feet of government leaders.

So why is Pickens creating more clean energy buzz than Thomas Friedman and Al Gore combined? Part of his main street cred surely derives from his deep oil drilling roots. In other words, he doesn't suffer from the stigma of having a 'green agenda'. His message is also an effective mix of patriotic, non-partisan (Swift Boat, anyone?), and logical.

Oftentimes, it's only when a prominent opponent comes to your side, that the tipping point is reached. Whether or not you like the man, he may be just what the energy revolution needs.