What can politicians do to lower gas prices?

With Americans facing the highest gas costs in eight years, elected leaders understandably eager to bring down prices at the pump. State governors from Washington to Florida have rolled back gas taxes, while the White House is again floating the idea of tapping the U.S. emergency oil reserves.

It's no mystery why: Research shows that public disapproval of sitting presidents tends to rise along with the cost of a fill-up. For those in office, then, at least appearing to be doing something — anything — about spiraling gas prices is paramount.

"The person in the White House is responsible for what we're seeing at the pump, in the public's imagination — no question about that," said historian Meg Jacobs, author of author of "Panic at the Pump: The Energy Crisis and the Transformation of American Politics in the 1970s." "That was true in the '70s. That remains true today."