McCain gives credit where credit’s maybe, sorta due

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) gave a lot of credit to President Bush Wednesday for the $10 drop in the cost of a barrel of oil, citing Bush’s lifting of the executive-branch moratorium on offshore drilling.

{mosads}The White House, however, wasn’t sure that’s why the cost has dropped.

“I don’t know if we fully deserve the credit,” said Dana Perino, White House press secretary.

Perino said the administration’s move “could” be partially responsible for the drop in prices, but she said the White House believes “that the fundamental problem of high energy prices is one of supply and demand.”

McCain has urged lifting the ban on drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf throughout his presidential campaign. This week his campaign unveiled an ad blaming rival Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for high gas prices because the Democratic presidential candidate opposes lifting the drilling ban.