NEWBERRY — Armed with his morning coffee at a McDonald’s restaurant on the outskirts of this community, Joe Welborn wasted no time responding to the question, “What do you make of Gov. Mark Sanford?”

“Not much,” he responded.

Why?

“He hasn’t done anything,” Welborn replied.

But Sanford is a Republican, a visitor reminded Welborn.

“I don’t care,” he said. “He’s not a good one.”

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement from Welborn, who has voted Republican most of his life. A retired postal worker, Welborn calls himself “an independent Republican.”

His views seem to mirror the general attitude voters have toward Sanford in Newberry County, where voters swing between Republican and Democratic candidates for office. It’s a county Sanford must carry if he’s to win a second term in 2006.

Voters informally surveyed in solidly Republican Aiken County were not pleased, either. But they said they would vote for Sanford regardless.

At best, voters are ambivalent toward Sanford in both counties. They don’t view Sanford as Mr. Excitement. Neither do they think he has been a disaster.

But many feel he has fallen short as governor.

“I find him lacking,” said Robert Carley, a GOP activist and former Newberry College political scientist. “He has some weird ideas.”

“He’s unrealistic; he’s out of touch,” said John Bodenheimer, 71, a retired attorney from Aiken.

In 2002, Sanford won Newberry by a less than impressive margin, capturing 53 percent of the vote against Democratic incumbent Jim Hodges.

Aiken was a slam-dunk for him.

There are 15 swing counties in South Carolina, like Newberry.

Swing county voters are crucial to Sanford’s re-election. These counties generally vote Republican in presidential election years, but have a track record of voting Democratic in state and local races. Normally, elected officials in swing counties are a mix of both parties.

One recent poll showed Sanford’s approval rating dropping to about 50 percent. Democrats say their polling shows Sanford in even deeper trouble.

Based on interviews with more than two dozen voters in Newberry and Aiken counties, Sanford has suffered some slippage — but not enough to cause widespread panic in his campaign. Dissatisfaction with him does not run as deeply as it did against Hodges in 2002 or then-Gov. David Beasley in 1998.

People generally go to the polls to vote a candidate out of office. In 1998, voters were unhappy with Beasley, and Hodges was an acceptable alternative. In 2002, Hodges fell from electoral grace as voters opted for Sanford. Experts don’t see that degree of dissatisfaction with Sanford.

Still, the governor is not home free. His support is a mile wide and an inch deep, political experts say. Events could dramatically alter the voters’ mood and suddenly throw his re-election into doubt. He can’t take 2006 for granted, experts say.

When asked to cite Sanford’s accomplishments the past three years, almost all voters couldn’t name one. But they remembered his “antics,” as most called them.

Voter after voter mentioned the squealing piglets Sanford brought to the State House last year to protest what he called pork-barrel spending by lawmakers.

“That was a disgrace to South Carolina,” said Charles Fulmer, an 81-year-old retired Newberry farmer. “It was insulting.”

“It was pretty stupid,” said Lee Jeremias, a 67-year-old antique dealer from Newberry.

Others recalled photo opportunities such as Sanford bicycling across the state and canoeing in the Sparkleberry Swamp — both to promote physical fitness.

Carley said South Carolina can’t stand another four years of no accomplishments.

“Sanford has to understand the process of negotiation and compromise,” Carley said. “That means giving up some of your positions. That I find lacking.

“When he fails to have his way, he takes his bat and ball and goes home. And that to me isn’t leadership.”

That opinion is shared by even some GOP legislators.

“I haven’t seen a whole lot of flexibility on the part of the governor,” said state Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Laurens.

“He has been a do-nothing governor,” said Perry Stevens, a 51-year-old Newberry furniture dealer. But, Stevens added, “that might give me reason to like him.”

Stevens and Sanford are clearly on the same page in their belief that government should do as little as possible.

Many said they voted for Sanford in 2002 because they liked his ideas and wanted to give him a chance to implement them.

“The governor started out with a bang, but he seemed to slow down,” said Colleen Yandle, a 51-year-old Newberry gift store owner.

Hugh Turner, a longtime jeweler here, said he voted for Sanford, but, “I’m not 100 percent pleased.

“He has a lot to learn. I can’t really think of a whole lot he has done to help the state. I can’t really go out and brag about him.”

Others spoke glowingly of the governor and his efforts to push for new ideas. They were highly critical of the Legislature for standing in the way of Sanford’s plans.

Ronny Bolton, a 64-year-old commercial real estate broker in Aiken, applauded Sanford for trying to change “the good ol’ boy system. He has done a lot of good the people don’t know about.”

Det Haislip, a hardware store owner in Aiken, agreed.

“I get a good feeling with Sanford. Somebody is up there watching our backs.”

Reach Bandy at (803) 771-8648 or lbandy@thestate.com.