Republican John McCain is crediting the recent $10-a-barrel drop in the price of oil to President Bush’s lifting of a presidential ban on offshore drilling, an action he has been advocating in his presidential campaign.

The cost of oil and gasoline is “on everybody’s mind in this room,” McCain told a town-hall meeting Wednesday.

He criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for opposing drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Ten days ago, Bush lifted a 1992 presidential ban on offshore drilling and urged Congress to do likewise. McCain said, “The price of oil dropped $10 a barrel.”

McCain also said Obama’s Iraq policies amount to “unconditional withdrawal.”