Ask Speaker of the House David Wilkins, R-Greenville, about this past session, however, and he will brush aside the apocalyptic talk with a wave of his hand.

"There are peaks, and there are valleys," he said. "When you've been here as long as I have, you learn to accept that and move on."

Wilkins, 57, just celebrated the completion of his 10th year leading the S.C. House of Representatives. He is the third-longest-serving speaker. Solomon Blatt, who led the House from 1935-46 and from 1951-73, holds the record with 33 years.

This week, Wilkins and his staff started collecting his papers. The University of South Carolina's South Caroliniana Library has asked to become the repository for his work. The speaker will join several of the state's political giants -- such as Blatt, former state Sen. Rembert Dennis, former Gov. Jim Edwards, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings -- in having his personal papers on display in the library's modern political collection.

It is an honor for Wilkins, a Clemson University graduate. It also has been an education or, perhaps more accurately, a re-education.

Tucked away in the photo albums and files are literally thousands of reminders of the past 10 years: editorials praising and criticizing him, messages to and from fellow legislators, notes with behind-the-scenes political strategies jotted down hurriedly.

This past session was a tough one for Wilkins. At first, he was one of several Republican leaders who promised party harmony. After all, the GOP dominated the Legislature and had captured the governor's seat. As the session came to a close, however, cooperation between legislators was lost in the controversy over the growing rift between Gov. Mark Sanford and the General Assembly.

Sanford saw most of his legislative agenda get bottled up despite calling several news conferences to demand action.

Then came the budget. After the General Assembly finally cobbled together what it considered a satisfactory budget, Sanford issued a bundle of line-item vetoes. Legislators promptly overrode almost all of them with little or no discussion.

The rift hit its nadir when Sanford brought two pigs to the door of the House to protest what he termed "pork" in the budget. Wilkins was not amused and said at the time, "This is the people's house ... I think the governor has defiled it to get a photo op."

Upon reflection, Wilkins said, "We did a lot of good things this year ... but that got lost in the hoopla over the pigs."

Still, according to Wilkins, this year was not the worst of his tenure, not by a long shot.

That honor belongs to the 2000 legislative session, the year Wilkins received death threats and constant criticism for his position on video poker and the Confederate flag.

Several times during that session, Wilkins took the floor to argue for the flag's removal. The Republican caucus was divided on the issue, forcing him to walk a political tightrope, holding the party together with little more than determination.

"It was a very tumultuous time, and David held everything on course," said Walter Edgar, University of South Carolina professor and expert on state politics. "It was an impressive feat, really."

House Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said that has become Wilkins' defining characteristic. Harrell joined the House in 1992 and went on to serve as Wilkins' majority leader before assuming the reins in House Ways and Means. He said the speaker's steady hand always amazes him.

"It's not easy being speaker," Harrell said. "You have 124 class presidents up here, and the speaker has to get them all on the same page. That's a tough thing to do, especially when something is controversial."

When the flag finally came down, Wilkins was hailed as a hero. There were even whispers that he should run for governor.

In 2001, Wilkins turned down chances at a federal judgeship and the position of U.S. ambassador to Chile.

He said he was happy to remain speaker of the House, a position that, at the time, made him the undisputed leader of the state Republican Party.

That changed in 2002 when Sanford was elected governor. With approval ratings in the 80 percent range, Sanford is now the head of the party.

Wilkins has said he has no problem with that. He hopes things will go as smoothly next year as they were supposed to this year.

"All I can do is what I think is right," he said. "I can't let people's perceptions of me change how I do my job. Perceptions change all the time."

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