The OC Register's Martin Wisckol asked McCain when he had last pumped his own gas, to which McCain replied:

"Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve done it for many, many years. I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters," McCain said.

The following is an excerpt from his interview with Wisckol:

#

WISCKOL: Under your presidency, can you offer any ideas on what we’ll be paying for gas in two years?

MCCAIN: It’ll be less because we will have been moving forward with measures to become oil independent – independent of foreign oil. I’m very confident that the American people can do it.

We didn’t get into this situation we’re in yesterday. So we’re not going to get out of it tomorrow. But Americans want a little relief. That’s why I support a gas-tax holiday. And if you don’t think it’s important to some people, ask someone who owns a couple of trucks and is paying 24½ cents tax on every gallon of gas.

#

The presidential candidate has proposed a controversial gas-tax holiday because "Americans are hurting" and could use a "little break," The Denver Post reported.

Rival Senator Obama doesn't support the measure and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called it "about the dumbest thing I've heard in an awful long time, from an economic point of view."

Although he may not know the exact price, McCain acknowledged that gas prices could go even higher on NBC's The Today Show.

A full transcript of the interview is available on the Orange County Register's Web site.