COLUMBIA - Gov. Mark Sanford's public image doesn't appear to be taking a beating from last week's pig stunt.

The governor hauled a pair of squirming pigs under his arms to the door of the House chambers to call attention to pork he says remains in the state's budget and how the legislature paid off part of a 2-year-old, $155 million deficit.

When a Columbia disc jockey said the stunt was beneath the governor's dignity, callers ran about 5-to-1 in Sanford's favor.

Approval for Sanford ran about the same in notes written to a Columbia TV station and a Charleston newspaper.

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, called a hometown talk show to protest.

Wilkins says the House has done a great deal for Sanford.

He said it has passed 12 of 16 items on the governor's "Checklist for Change" and embraced many of his priorities in the budget.

"We continue to move forward and pass the agenda, and yet the governor continues to run against the legislature," Wilkins said.

"He continues to use us as a whipping boy, even when we've passed the legislation he's asked us to."

For his part, Sanford says the stunt wasn't insulting. "We're making a serious point," he said.

"This is a real problem for the taxpayers."