As American consumers begin to face the prospect of $4-a-gallon gasoline, one thing's for sure: They want a head, and Big Oil, President Bush, or Wall Street will suffice.

This month, the CNBC/Portfolio Wealth in America survey asked 801 Americans to name one or two things they felt were "most to blame for the current high price of gasoline;" topping the list of replies were oil companies (28 percent), President Bush (26 percent), and speculators (23 percent).

Democrats in Washington would be inclined to agree.

Ebben Burnham-Snyder, a spokesman for the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, believes consumers are expressing righteous disapproval of how oil companies choose to use those record profits that we hear so much about.

"Oil companies could be making better decisions in terms of what they're investing in," said Burnham-Snyder. "Exxon invested $32 billion in stock buybacks last year. They're investing somewhat in exploration and production, but not enough. The best fuel engineers are working for oil companies, and they're not looking for ways to invest in biofuels."

Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Big Oil, the president, institutional investors, the Masons, whomever…the truth is, when it comes to playing the blame game for energy prices, there are lots of eloquent arguments and few agreed-upon facts. The specter of $140 (and counting) oil has left blood on many different hands—so what about our own?

When asked about the cause of gas prices, demand from India and China (17 percent) and U.S. consumer demand (13 percent) didn't make it onto the top half of the list of responses.   

That fact is shocking to economists, many of whom believe that politically motivated finger-pointing and sensationalist media coverage have misled consumers' understanding of the situation. (Let us know where you have felt the squeeze most.)