Sen. Kerry mends relationships with Pickens, Lieberman

By Alexander Bolton - 06/15/10 06:00 AM ET

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has worked to thaw once-icy relationships to advance his dream of passing climate change legislation.

Perhaps the most important relationship in need of mending was with his partner in the climate change battle, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).

But Lieberman wasn’t the only crucial ally Kerry worked to win over. He also buried an old grudge earlier this year with T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire oil tycoon who funded an attack campaign against Kerry’s presidential bid in 2004.

Kerry and Lieberman had a frosty relationship after the 2006 campaign season, when the former was one of only a few senators who went so far as to campaign in Connecticut for Ned Lamont, who was running against Lieberman in the general election. The others were Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Kerry challenged Lieberman over his support for the war in Iraq and attended an October campaign rally for Lamont, who defeated Lieberman in the Democratic primary.

“It was a rough spot in a long relationship,â€