McCain likes that pig analogy

John McCain managed this morning to put top Democrat Howard Dean in the same pigsty as rival-turned-cheerleader Mitt Romney.

Asked on Fox News this morning about Dean's series of attacks on him this week on the economy, Iraq, and other issues, McCain replied, "I think it was Bob Dole that said you don't want to get in a wrestling match with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it."

The presumptive Republican nominee had an eerily similar reaction when asked about Romney's attacks on him on illegal immigration and other issues in the days before the New Hampshire primary: "Never get into a wrestling match with a pig. You both get dirty -- and the pig likes it."

McCain can only hope the result is the same and his personal refusal to get in the mud with the chairman of the Democratic National Committee (though his campaign operation and the Republican National Committee is giving as good as it's getting) will help him win in November. In New Hampshire, McCain's official above-the-fray stance with Romney culminated in a key victory that put him on the road to the nomination.