War has rules, mud wrestling has rules - politics has no rules.

Perot’s line is a deliberately jarring comparison meant to convey his belief that electoral politics can be more unscrupulous than even violent conflict or lowbrow sport. By invoking “war” and “mud wrestling”—activities popularly assumed to be brutal or degrading yet still governed by formal rules or conventions—he argues that politics often lacks enforceable boundaries, inviting distortion, personal attacks, and shifting standards. The quote fits Perot’s broader outsider-populist posture: a critique of party machines, media spin, and backroom tactics, and an appeal to voters’ frustration with perceived cynicism in Washington. Its punch comes from the escalation: if even war has rules, politics’ rulelessness is a moral indictment.