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>> many americans getting a taste of pricey gasoline especially in major cities like honolulu, hawaii where prices on average are $4.47. santa barbara, california, $4.63 a gallon. now they are saying shock at the pump could get a whole lot worse. what are three things that president obama can do right now to lower gas prices? jack gerard is the c.e.o. of american petroleum institute. you would think he knows. welcome. what should he do first? >> first, the president has to send a positive signal to the marketplace and suggest help is on the way by approving other operations to produce here in ...

Build new houses. >> the construction data we got today is the worst number we've really seen since 1970. all of this is coming out of a recession. this recession has been so different than past recessions. normally when we come out of a recession housing is a piece of the gross picture of the economy, 15 to 20% can be attributed to housing, in particular new housing, not so with this recession, only about 4% of growth can be attributed to the housing. not a big surprise when you think about it, because housing is what took us down. martha: the nature of this recession was so much hinged upon ...

Housing market and we can't do this forever. >> eric: we're talking about some of the lowest mortgage rates in, what, multi decades. >> absolutely. >> eric: what's going on, where are they? >> they are low. in the 5s for most people who are applying for a mortgage, if they have credit and a down payment. the challenge that we have is mortgage conditions have changed. you now have to have really good credit and a down payment in order to purchase a property. but if you can, now is one of the best times to buy a property. >> eric: i saw 4.63%, one of the lowest rates in maybe upwards of 40 to 50...

Big stretch. the articles appeared this morning in chicago and los angeles saying the global economy is strong, therefore demand for oil is up, therefore gas prices are going up. as i say that's a stretch because china is slowing down. europe is flat-out in recession and american is only growing 2%. so to try fry to say the strong global economy is reason for higher gas prices in america is a stretch and frankly an element of political spin here, trying to excuse ruinous gas prices for basically political reasons. in los angeles by the way, regular is averaging 4.37. in chicago, it is 4.63. ca...