According to the government, domestic production rose 3 percent last year, though as NPR notes, "Credit for the increase in onshore production probably belongs less to any administration policy than to advanced drilling techniques, and the higher oil prices that make them worthwhile." 

Some Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing the administration to open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat gas prices.

"The rapidly rising price of oil is threatening to imperil a fragile economic recovery and cause more hardship for Vermonters already struggling to make ends meet," says Democratic Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont. "As our three most recent presidents demonstrated, tapping the reserve reduces prices significantly and immediately. In a time of escalating turmoil in the Middle East and rampant oil speculation in markets around the world, now is the time to tap the reserve." 

Much of the nuance in the discussion over gas prices will likely be lost as the debate intensifies over the summer, when prices are expected to rise even further. And don't be surprised if those chants of "drill, baby, drill" once again becomes a staple of Republican campaign events in the next presidential campaign cycle.