'I'm Not Going to Run a Campaign That Engages in Gutter Politics'

So says the man whose party just released a photo depicting his opponent as a pig.

Andrew Cuomo says he won't be getting into the political mud with Carl Paladino -- a day after the state Democratic Party he controls released a photo of Paladino's face slapped onto the body of a pig.

"I'm not going to run a campaign that engages in gutter politics. I'm not going to do that," the state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate said on an interview this morning on WGDJ radio in Albany.

The Democrat's comments signaled a public desire to let surrogates publicly take on the Buffalo Republican in the governor's race.

But Cuomo did try to distance himself from a "Paladino pig" photograph released Monday by the state Democratic Party, claiming Paladino is "at the public trough" because of his real estate business that has had dozens of leases with state agencies for space in Buffalo area office buildings.

"I don't think that was necessary," Cuomo said of the attack photo by his party. But, asked if he admonished those who created the photograph, Cuomo said, "No, I don't admonish anyone."

Cuomo insisted his campaign will take the high road over the next six weeks.

"In terms of getting involved in the name-calling situation, I'm not going to do that. I am not going to further degrade the political process of New York, which has been degraded plenty," Cuomo said.

Especially by all the lowlifes and miscreants in his party.

As to name-calling, Cuomo allegedly has a history of that.