Gov. Bill Walker met with President Obama and members of his cabinet last week. Walker, in a written statement afterward, said the president was receptive to the idea of an all-Alaska gas pipeline and seemed surprised to hear Alaskans pay the highest prices in the nation for energy.
Obama invited all newly elected governors to the White House for a series of meetings Friday. Walker was one of seven who attended, and the only independent. Wire service photos of the Oval Office portion of the afternoon show Walker on a couch seated next to the governors-elect of Maryland and Rhode Island.