(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States believe the White House has the power to act in order to reduce the cost of fuel, according to a poll by CBS News. 65 per cent of respondents think the price of gasoline is something a president can do a lot about.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline reached $4.11 U.S. in July 2008—the highest level ever recorded by the American Automobile Association.

In April 2005, U.S. president George W. Bush declared, "I wish I could simply wave a magic wand and lower gas prices tomorrow; I’d do that. Unfortunately, higher gas prices are a problem that has been years in the making."

In the U.S., the federal taxes for fuel stand at 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline, and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. In May, Arizona senator John McCain—the presumptive presidential nominee for the Republican Party in this year’s United States election—called for a temporary suspension of the federal gasoline tax. Illinois senator Barack Obama, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, dismissed the idea.

In his Aug. 2 radio address, Bush discussed the current state of affairs, saying, "The fundamental source of high gas prices is the fact that supply is not keeping pace with demand. To reduce pressure on prices, we need to increase the supply of oil, especially oil produced here at home. So in June, I called on Congress to lift the legislative ban that prevents offshore exploration of parts of the Outer Continental Shelf, or OCS. But the leaders of the Democratic Congress have refused to allow a vote."

Polling Data

Is the price of gasoline something a president can do a lot about, or is that beyond any president’s control?

Source: CBS News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 906 registered American voters, conducted from Jul. 31 to Aug. 5, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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