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DATELINE, HOGGER'S KNOB SAN DIEGO CA: 10:23 AM

The Big Oil Hog predicts jumps at the pump after the Feb. 5 primaries , and deep price-cutting before the presidential election on November 4, 2008!

Punxsutawney Phil wasn't the only "hog" seeing a shadow today. An entirely different animal emerged in San Diego this morning, but unlike previous years, the shadow he saw didn't leave him jumping for joy.

The "Big Oil Hog," who has had a record of 100% accuracy in his predictions since 2004, swaggered out of his corporate lair at 10:22 this morning to admire his shadow near the gas pumps at Hogger's Knob, San Diego. Oil industry watchdogs observed the pig intently as he pranced out of his lair, lit his stogie, and prepared to prognosticate for the year.

The Pink Porker's snout twitched in anticipation of gorging on more piggish profits for Big Oil. With Exxon Mobil reporting a record-breaking $11.7 billion in quarterly profits along with Shell's report of $8.47 billion in profits, the capitalist swine hammed it up with a gleeful jig. However, his joy quickly dissipated as he spied an even larger shadow, overshadowing the prospect of record gasoline prices in 2008.

Witnesses on the scene saw the pink porker recoil like Dracula at the cross at the sight of a voter ballot.
"He looked revolted," said one onlooker.

The shadow of the election ballots that will be cast by voters in February and November of this year may dull the oil companies' quest for $4 gasoline.

For years, the oil industry has said that oil prices determine gas prices, but UCAN's research suggests that politics has more to do with the price of gasoline than supply and demand.

In January 2006, UCAN predicted that gas prices would plummet just before the November 2006 elections. We repeated our predictions in August and September. The forecast raised eyebrows because gas prices had reached an all-time record in San Diego County. It turns out we called it right. In San Diego, prices plunged almost a dollar a gallon from $3.26 on August 1, to a low of $2.36 a gallon just two days before the November 7 election. By noon on election Tuesday, gas prices took a sharp curve upward. The following week prices had increased 6¢ a gallon in the county at a time of year when prices normally decline.

What the oil companies claim as "coincidence" has occurred again. In the run-up to the February 2008 California election, gasoline prices have again dropped - 30¢ (ten cents in the last week). Yet, in the last ten days, the spot market price for raw gasoline gas has surged 50¢. Despite the huge increases in the gasoline pipleine, retail prices continue to plummet with more than 100 San Diego gas stations selling fuel for less than $3 a gallon.
The correlation between elections and gasoline prices has been validated repeatedly in recent years. And it is likely to be proven again later this year. It is this "brawn of the ballot" that the Big Oil Hog realized would dull the oil companies' ability to drive gasoline prices to new records in 2008.

UCAN's Executive Director, and veteran Oil Hog Analyst Michael Shames stated: "If drivers steer towards the polls this year, the Big Oil Hog and his friends should be kept in check... at least for this year. For 2008, we expect that Big Oil's zeal for profits at the pump will be overshadowed by voters' sensitivity to price gouging."

In addition to voting, consumers can minimize the full brunt of the Big Oil Hog's insatiable appetite for feasting upon the bank accounts of San Diego households by asking for a free copy of UCAN's 28-page Guzzler Buster: 127 Secrets to Squeezing More Miles from a Gallon. Consumers can order it for free at www.ucan.org.

Find cheaper gasoline HERE.