WASHINGTON — Rising anxiety over the economy, especially soaring gasoline and food prices, is forcing politicians from Capitol Hill to the White House to the campaign trail to scramble for a response.
President Bush on Tuesday sought to assure Americans that he was aware of the problems they faced in paying bills but said there was "no magic wand" he could wave to bring down energy costs.
Congressional Democrats and Republicans rushed to draft new energy proposals -- and dust off old ones -- in order to shield themselves from blame for high gas prices, while plotting strategy for what will be months of positioning on the issue.
The ideas being offered -- including Bush's renewed call for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and Democrats' demands for investigations of the oil industry and a windfall profits tax -- have been debated for years. Even if approved, they would provide little immediate relief.
But politicians have grown increasingly jittery as pump prices hit a record high Tuesday -- a national average of about $3.61 a gallon for self-serve regular, up from $2.95 a year ago, according to AAA -- and oil companies reported big profits this week.
The high gas prices have come amid a declining job market, a housing crisis and rising grocery prices that are being felt in all regions of the country.
On Capitol Hill, some lawmakers accustomed to hearing from voters about gasoline prices said they had never gotten more calls.
"I was home in Alaska over the weekend, and everywhere that I went the price of gasoline was the main topic," Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said. "What people really care about, what they really want to know is: What are you doing, Congress?"
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) said three motorists approached him to complain about gas prices as he was filling up his car.
A number of Republicans have joined Democrats in pressing Bush to give ground on his refusal to suspend purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Bush has resisted halting the purchase of 67,000 to 68,000 barrels of oil a day for the emergency stockpile, contending that it is needed to guard against an interruption of the flow of foreign oil to the United States. He also has argued that a halt would have no significant impact on prices because the daily purchase amounts to one-tenth of 1% of global oil demand.
