White House says nothing ‘off the table’ in dealing with gas prices

The White House said Friday that nothing is off the table when it comes to relieving high gas prices.

At a briefing with reporters Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Obama continues to pursue an “all of the above” approach to healing the nation’s energy woes.

“We’re not taking anything off the table,” Earnest said.

He made the comment in a response to a question about whether Obama would consider tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counter high gas prices.

Earnest would not entertain questions on what ideas the administration might be pursuing. He said he would not comment specifically “about what kinds of things may or may not be on the table or how we’re going to make decisions about what’s on the table.”

The White House spokesman continued to reiterate the administration’s point that nothing can be done immediately to help ease anxiety at the gas pumps. He said anyone who indicates otherwise is making “phony promises” about what he or she can do to solve the gas spike.

“I can tell you that ... if there were a magic a wand that you could wave, one of the previous presidents would have waved it,” Earnest said.

In the short term, Earnest touted the recent extension of the payroll tax cut as something that could help Americans fill their tanks.

“That’s the kind of thing that’s going to help American families deal with the spike in gas prices,” Earnest said. “But anybody who says that they can wave a wand or plant the magic beans to lead to a reduction in oil prices is just not telling the truth.”

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