Poll shows Obama’s gas price troubles persist

A new poll shows continued discontent with President Obama’s handling of gasoline prices despite aggressive White House efforts to tout the administration’s energy policies.

The Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that 62 percent of those surveyed disapprove of the way Obama is addressing prices at the pump, while 28 percent approve and 10 percent have no opinion.

The findings of the early April poll are similar to a survey conducted for the news outlets a month earlier, which showed that 65 percent disapproved of Obama’s performance on gas prices while 26 percent approved.

Obama, seeking to limit political damage from high pump prices, has given several recent speeches on energy policy, including four over two days during a March 21-22 visit to Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Ohio.

Obama has said the administration is looking into potential market manipulation, but generally emphasized there are no quick fixes.

The president, in recent speeches, has touted his support for domestic oil-and-gas production while arguing that the United States also needs to diversify away from oil with green energy and advanced vehicles.

The new poll also shows that the public is spreading blame for the recent rise in gasoline prices, which could be leveling off shy of a nationwide average of $4 per gallon. 

Regular gasoline is averaging $3.92 per gallon nationwide, according to AAA.

There is little that policymakers can do, especially in the short term, to lower gasoline prices that are tethered to crude oil prices set on world markets, experts say.

Twenty-five percent of adults surveyed in the poll blame other oil-producing countries for the recent rise in oil and gasoline prices, 28 percent blame U.S. oil companies and 21 percent blame the Obama administration.

The gas price question was part of a much wider poll about Obama's performance on various issues and how he fares against likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The Hill’s Meghashyam Mali has much more on the poll here.

The new poll of 1,103 adults, conducted April 5-8, has an overall margin of error of 3.5 percent, although some questions — including the one about Obama’s handling of gas prices — were only asked of half the sample, which boosts the uncertainty somewhat.