Aiken Gov. Mark Sanford's performance in his first 100 days draws mixed reviews from residents in this rock-ribbed Republican county.

Bill Morton, a 66-year-old real estate agent, seemed to sum up the sentiment here when he gave a thumbs-up, thumbs-down sign in rating the performance of the state's GOP chief executive.

"All right," he said, but nothing spectacular.

Of two dozen people interviewed for this story, most struggled to identify anything Sanford had done.

"I don't see where he has done anything," said Skeet Brunson, 51-year-old manager of a local restaurant. "But I can't see where he has done any damage either."

She voted for Sanford in November and most likely would do so again if afforded the opportunity, she said.

Like most people here and across the state, Brunson hasn't paid much attention to what the governor has been doing. She has been distracted by the war in Iraq.

Others felt 100 days was insufficient time to judge the performance of the governor. Most preferred a longer period. Nevertheless, folks were willing to give Sanford the benefit of the doubt.

One such individual was Jim Moates, 76-year-old owner of The Gun Rack and a dyed-in-the-wool Republican. In his opinion, Sanford can do no wrong.

"He's great. He may be the person who's going to straighten out the taxes in this state. He's got his work cut out for him, but I have faith in him," Moates said. "He's going to be a fantastic governor."

While voters could not single out any legislative achievement of the governor, two events stood out in their minds -- the controversy surrounding his Air Force Reserve duty and his threat to shut down the Governor's Mansion for lack of operating capital.

For a while, Sanford left open the question of whether he would serve if deployed by the Air Force. After much criticism, he said he would honor his commitment.

The mansion remains open, thanks to contributions from private interests.

"He has been a good steward of our money," observed Ken Akin, a 62-year-old men's clothing salesman.

His Air Force Reserve commitment sparked much debate. Should he stay or go?

Brenda Taylor, a 57-year-old gift shop owner, was torn.

"If he obligated himself, he should honor it. But he needs to make being governor his top obligation," she said, struggling to find some middle ground.

Ray Little, a 32-year-old gift shop clerk, was unforgiving.

"We ought to ship him over there," he said. "We have a lieutenant governor, don't we? Then ship him."

While Sanford enjoys an extended honeymoon period with voters here, there are some danger signs on the horizon that could cause him political heartburn and threaten his good standing in this influential but highly educated electorate.

The issue is education funding. Voters are angry about the prospect of more budget cuts. The 2003-04 budget approved last month by the S.C. House dropped education spending to $1,643 per student, the lowest since 1995. School districts around the state are preparing to lay off teachers to make up for the loss in funding.

"I wish the governor would start focusing more on education," said gift shop owner Taylor. "Instead of cutting money for education, he should be pumping more money into it. That's an investment in our future."

She held out the possibility she might vote against him in three years if he and the General Assembly don't restore education funding.

"You're not going to have the governor down here looking for me, are you?" she quipped.

Taylor is not alone.

Dan Edmunds, 40-year-old director of the city's arts center, called the proposed spending cuts "a big mistake." He said education "is a foundation for every industry here. If we invest money, it has to be in education. If education is strong, then your state will ultimately be strong."

Gaye Cain, 43-year-old manager of an antique mall, branded the proposed cuts "awful." She said, "If you're not educating your children, you're messing up."

Joel Wolf, 51-year-old branch manager of a lending company, voted for Sanford, but hasn't been impressed by his performance to date.

"I'll probably vote against him next time," Wolf said. "I haven't seen him do anything."

African-American residents took note of Sanford's efforts to reach out to the black community, which constitutes 22 percent of the voting electorate here. They saw it as a positive sign.

"He has been doing OK," said Michael Hall, a 39-year-old director of residential services for the elderly. "He still has a long ways to go. But he gets a plus from me for reaching out. He still has a hurdle to overcome. But he's the lightning rod to make that happen."

Overall, these voters give Sanford an average grade of B-plus for his first 100 days.

As real estate agent Morton said of Sanford, "He hasn't done anything to make a fool of himself -- yet."