COLUMBIA - Mark Sanford told voters in 2002 that he is "a leader not a politician."

The simple but successful campaign mantra carried the former Congressman from the masses to the governor's mansion as he knocked off six GOP challengers and an incumbent Democratic governor.

Sanford's winning slogan was front and center again at the Republican Party convention earlier this month when he was saluted with a medley of campaign commercials from the 2002 race.

The television advertisements highlighted his well-crafted image as a political outsider fighting against the system - an impression that Sanford has continued to promote since taking office.

With nationwide discontent about politics-as-usual in Washington, the 2006 electoral landscape is ripe for a South Carolina candidate to carry this campaign mantle again.

It's clear that Sanford will try to use a similar message this year. His campaign already is labeling one of his Democratic challengers - Tommy Moore, a state senator from Clearwater - "a liberal insider" because of his 27 years in the Legislature.

But political pundits argue that Sanford's 2002 motto doesn't apply anymore.

And critics say, if anything, it should read: "A politician not a leader."

Sanford's camp says it's a matter of how you define "leader."

"A leader is someone who is willing to stand up for principles, even when it is not politically expedient," said campaign manager Jason Miller. "Mark Sanford's entire service as governor has been marked by a willingness to stand against the insider crowd on behalf of South Carolina taxpayers. That's real leadership."

And Sanford isn't a politician because he's not "someone who is part of the go-along get-along insider crowd, not willing to rock the boat in order to make real changes," Miller added.

When it comes to legislation, Sanford has stood his ground, vetoing a billboard compensation bill and a number of state budget provisions that increased spending.

Still, political experts look more at an incumbent's record, not his philosophy, for evidence of leadership.

Now in his fourth year as South Carolina's leading politician, the governor has few outright accomplishments to support his claim, said Don Aiesi, a political science professor at Furman University.

"I think that slogan would be absolutely meaningless and have no clout this year," he said.

And his shifting stance on some issues combined with a few political stunts - think pooping pigs - show he's a true politician, said Neal Thigpen, Francis Marion University pundit.

"Obviously as a politician he has moved a little bit to get himself in position to run for re-election," Thigpen said.

The most palpable example was Sanford shunning his controversial school choice plan called "Put Parents in Charge" just before this year's legislative session started. Instead he emphasized a plan to create a statewide charter school district, which was already nearing final approval in the Senate.

"He pushed it, pushed it and pushed it until it was an election year and then acted like he'd never heard of it," said Lachlan McIntosh, the executive director of the state Democratic Party, referring to Sanford's switch.

Democrats plan to frame Sanford as a "crafty politician," not a leader this election.

"Leaders get results, leaders can point to accomplishments, leaders can work with others," McIntosh said.

"This governor has almost nothing substantive to point to as an accomplishment, he has terrible relations with other leaders, and the results show."

Reach John Frank at (803) 799-9051 or jbfrank@postandcourier.com.