Is there anything that a sitting US President could do to lower gas prices permanently if he really wanted to?

Question

When I say "permanently" I mean for the long term or for the foreseeable future.

Could a U.S. President to any actions that would lower gas prices?

New laws? War? Threats?

What could they do?

Answer 1

Assuming the congress and the public  would go along, we could develop oil production from oil shale. This would produce  oil  for a 100 years  at a price less than 90 dollars a barrel which would be a little cheaper but not cheap. However there would be a lot more CO2 production for a gallon of gas and a lot of damage to the  environment.

Answer 2

He could invade an oil producing country and take over.

Answer 3

he could try to allow mining in some other places in the U.S. but this would annoy many environmentalists and would probably not be passed by congress, this would lower prices for awhile but not forever

Answer 4

Heavy investment in public transport and alternative energy research.  Or tax gas really highly now to stimulate such investments (but that wouldn't be a very popular policy.)  There's not really much he can do from the supply side.

Answer 5

There is nothing they could do.  The oil prices are determined by speculators who buy the oil futures contracts.

Answer 6

Actually a lot of places do not need the high prices, some store owners (I have actually talked to them myself) have said that if they want to they put the price up a few cents because they know people think that it is what has to be done when really they are ripping people off.

Answer 7

No, for it would take an act of Congress to authorize the resumption of drilling for oil.

Blame the Congress

In North Dakota there is a reserve that is as large as Saudi Arabia's PLUS 50 miles off the coast of FL is another reserve that's half way to Cuba.  Well Cuba [with the assistance of China] is going to start drilling for oil.  They will be stealing our oil because the bloody Congress will not allow us to do it.

plus

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who controls the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere, is making deals to sell his country’s oil to China, oil that is currently coming to the United States.

Meanwhile, a new left-wing populist regime in Bolivia has nationalized the natural gas industry, threatening to cut off supplies to the United States.