Nearly seven months before the November election, a plurality of Americans favor Barack Obama to tackle what they consider the most pressing issue in higher education: the runaway cost of a bachelor's degree. According to a new nationwide survey conducted through The Chronicle/Gallup Panel, 42 percent of Americans think that controlling college costs is "extremely important" for the next president to address, ahead of higher-education issues such as quality, college access for low-income students, and the extreme concentration of wealth among elite institutions. On the question of which candidate would do more to help families pay for college, Mr. Obama maintains a 13-point advantage, 32 percent to 19 percent, over Hillary Rodham Clinton. Both of the Democrats top John McCain, at 10 percent, although a large group, 29 percent, responded "don't know." While Americans are clearly worried about college costs, one finding in the survey captures how conflicted they are about the issue. When asked if the federal government should have a role in controlling tuition at public and private colleges, the results were almost evenly split: 51 percent said yes, 49 percent no.