South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is one of the nation’s three worst state chief executives, an article in Time magazine says.

The magazine, on newsstands today, notes South Carolina’s loss of its AAA credit rating under Sanford’s watch. And it also mentions his reputation for penny pinching.

Time says business leaders are losing patience with Sanford over some of his vetoes. “Even GOP bosses charge that he is worse at economic development than at grandstanding, as when he visited the Legislature last year carrying piglets to protest what he considered pork-barrel spending,” the article said.

Sanford has received praise elsewhere in national publications, including the Wall Street Journal.

“Obviously the way to please Time magazine editors is to raise taxes, and the way to upset them is to fight for limited government,” Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said Sunday.

“Governor Sanford’s record is clearly one of cutting taxes and limiting the size of government. Even if that upsets the liberal editors at Time magazine, we’re confident that’s the type of government the people of South Carolina are looking for,” Sawyer said.

The magazine put Sanford in the company of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat criticized for her handling of Hurricane Katrina recovery, and Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican who pleaded guilty to criminal charges of failing to report people paying for his golf outings.

— The Associated Press