Republican Gov. Mark Sanford writes off his first legislative session as a "learning curve" experience.

State lawmakers scratch their heads, saying they aren't sure what to make of him. They think he's a bit strange.

State Sen. Darrell Jackson is more diplomatic. "He's as unique as they come," says the Columbia Democrat.

Voters give Sanford high marks for his performance despite his inability to get much of his agenda through a Republican-controlled Legislature.

According to a survey taken last week of voters for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, 62 percent of South Carolinians look favorably upon the job the governor is doing. Only 14 percent disapprove.

"The people are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt a bit longer," says Francis Marion University professor Neal Thigpen, a GOP activist.

Lueen Homewood, a 57-year-old homemaker from Columbia, is a Sanford fan. "He has humility, honesty and simplicity. That is appealing. I've been impressed with him from the beginning. He's a man of soul."

Sanford's relationship with the Legislature has been rocky at best. Part of it stems from the fact he is the first governor in 50 years who is not a product of the General Assembly.

As he quickly discovered, the State House is a personality-driven place, requiring a certain amount of hand-holding, which he loathes. "That's not my style," the governor says.

Sanford knew only a handful of legislators when he arrived in town. He has done little since to cultivate relationships or form coalitions to get his agenda through the Legislature.

"We used to be invited to the governor's office to talk over things; the governor had us at the Governor's Mansion for breakfast," complains state Sen. Verne Smith, a Greenville Republican and 31-year veteran of the Senate.

"We haven't been able to do that with this governor. He hasn't been as accessible."

Sanford has used the media to try to shame members into embracing his proposals, going over their heads to the people.

"It's called going public," says Winthrop University political scientist Scott Huffmon. "He's going to their boss."

Sanford says if he had to choose whom he wanted on his side, "it would be the folks out there in South Carolina, because I work for them ultimately, not the Legislature."

A chief complaint lodged against Sanford is that he has good ideas but doesn't know how to carry them out. He loathes politics and refuses to trade for votes to get his agenda passed.

"If you were to speak to the bulk of South Carolinians out there, they'd agree with where we're coming from," the governor says.

Jackson says Sanford "may be too much of a purist for this business."

Sanford is keenly aware of his image and persona. No one utilizes the media better than he to project a nonchalant, down-to-earth, self-assured governor who has the people's concerns at heart. He even makes subtle use of the media to run against the Legislature.

"There are a lot of good people up here, but in many ways they are a part of a dysfunctional system," he says.

So, who's running the state?

The general consensus is House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, and Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston.

"Everyone knows that," says state Sen. Arthur Ravenel Jr., R-Charleston.

Sanford has the microphone, but Wilkins and McConnell have the votes.

The Legislature is a place of compromise, so can a true believer like Sanford be effective if he's not willing to bend?

The answer to that question could determine just how long -- and how steep -- the governor's learning curve will be.