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ATLANTA (CNN) -
A recent poll indicated that more than three-quarters of Americans blamed oil companies and the countries that produce oil for high gasoline prices in the United States.
Almost two-thirds of those same poll takers said President Bush was also to blame, and 67 percent said there were "reasonable steps" he could take that would "significantly lower" the price at the pump.
The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll was conducted April 29 to May 1 through telephone interviews with 1,006 Americans.
Seventy-seven percent of those who participated in the poll said that oil-producing countries were either a "great deal" or a "moderate amount" to blame, while 79 percent blamed the companies and 65 percent looked to the president.
And, according to 78 percent of those surveyed, gasoline prices are not fair. Almost 60 percent believe the cost of gasoline will continue to rise, while 33 percent believe the country is due a leveling out.
But the poll indicated that Americans are more evenly divided on whether their automobile choices have anything to do with the cost of driving. According to the poll, 53 percent said "drivers with cars that use a lot of gas" were responsible for the high prices, while 46 percent said they were "not much" or "not at all" responsible.
Those who took the poll weren't very happy with the economic news they've been hearing -- 68 percent called it "mostly bad" and only 25 percent called it "mostly good."
But half of them said economic conditions today are "good" and just over half -- 51 percent -- were optimistic that conditions would be favorable a year from now.
Click here for CNN/Money's special report -- "Oil Crunch 2005."
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