Democrats will head into the August recess Friday with the shadow of gas prices hanging over them following a mix-up about whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had hinted that she might allow a vote on new oil drilling.

The party’s struggles to cope with the energy crisis threaten to obscure a string of victories it has racked up on other domestic issues, such as housing, Medicare, unemployment and veterans’ benefits.

“It could be that in the bigger picture of things, as things go together it may be that it has a place,” Pelosi said in an end-of-session roundtable with reporters. “Whether it’s for coal, for natural gas or whether it’s for nuclear. … If it fits into the bigger picture, it may have a place.”

And, asked if she could envision a scenario where there could be a vote on new offshore drilling, she said, “Of course.”

But shortly thereafter, Pelosi’s office issued a written “clarification” stating that Pelosi was not changing her position.

“She has no plans to bring to the floor a bill to allow drilling in protected areas,” spokesman Drew Hammill said in the statement. “The Speaker was referring to the issue of expanding supply. Drilling, no doubt, will be part of the mix in transitioning to a more fuel-efficient global economy.”

Republicans have been frustrated that Democrats, while seemingly cornered on energy, still enjoy an enormous advantage heading into congressional elections.

On Thursday, they detected a shift from Pelosi’s insistence, voiced earlier this month, that “we can’t drill our way out” of soaring fuel costs.

“It’s clear her spinners are backpedaling,” said House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (Fla.). “I am heartened by the Speaker’s Freudian slip that in her heart of hearts she envisions some openness to expanding supply.”

In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Democrats have repeatedly tried to push real solutions on energy, but were consistently blocked by Republicans and President Bush.