GOP presidential candidate John McCain on Wednesday said the recent drop in the price of oil was due to President Bush's lifting of a presidential ban on offshore drilling.

"The price of oil dropped $10 a barrel," said McCain, who argued that lifting the ban has affected world markets. Bush recently lifted the executive order banning offshore drilling that his father put in place in 1990.

McCain has been advocating offshore drilling in his presidential campaign. He has criticized his rival Barack Obama for opposing drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf.

However, the White House is not taking the credit for the drop in price. Presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino said the price drop also could reflect diminished demand.

"I don't know if we fully deserve the credit," Perino said.

Obama Media-Fest

McCain also said Obama's policies on Iraq amounted to "unconditional withdrawal." Obama's plan to withdraw U.S. troops over a 16-month period "could lead to a resurgence in our enemies, and we would have to come back," McCain said.

His criticism of his Democratic rival has heated up as Obama has drawn the lion's share of attention over the past few days for his visit to Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and other destinations.

The McCain campaign is accusing the media of favoring Obama and released a video on the Internet to support the claim.

Since winning the Democratic nomination, surveys have show that Obama has received far more coverage than McCain.

Source: The Associated Press