They stood, mouths agape, as Gov. Mark Sanford bounded up the Statehouse stairs with a squealing piglet under each arm.

They shook their heads as he positioned himself in front of the House and, with TV cameras whirring, declaimed about excess pork in the budget.

Afterward, as the governor's staff cleaned up the mess left by the non-house-trained pigs, they wondered aloud: "Has he lost his mind?"

By the next day, their question was answered. The governor's pig stunt was a huge hit. In one made-for-TV moment, the governor pounded home his mantra of fiscal conservatism and made the General Assembly look like a collection of monocle-wearing fuddy duddys.

The response by legislators didn't help, most grumbling about "decorum" and "the dignity of the office."

It was a public relations coup and yet another reason Sanford remains the rock star of South Carolina politics.

In a political career that has taken him from Washington to Columbia, Sanford has mastered the art of the outsider. He has carefully cultivated the image of a principled maverick, unable to compromise, unwilling to yield.

There have been those who said such a technique would not work in Columbia. They said, as governor, Sanford would be judged purely by what he accomplished.

Still, after two years without passing any major legislation, after a year in which the tension between the Republican-dominated Legislature and the Republican governor reached a fevered pitch, Sanford is riding high. His approval ratings are in the 80s, and most legislators are afraid to oppose him publicly.

"Inside politics is followed by very few people," said Jack Bass, College of Charleston professor and expert on South Carolina political history. "The governor has a very theatrical touch and that plays well with the public. And everybody likes the idea of one man going up against the system."

LOVE LETTERS

Following the pig stunt, letters from the public flooded most papers in the state, the vast majority lauding the governor for standing up to the Legislature.

The messages had a familiar tone.

During Sanford's stint in Congress from 1994 to 2000, his claim to fame was nay saying. At one time or another, he opposed his own party over: $100 million in funding for the $20 billion International Space Station, $13 million for military operations in Kosovo, Congressional Medals of Valor for police and fire fighters (because they should be honored locally) and, on several occasions, tax cuts, including an $80 billion tax cut in 1998. The list goes on and on.

Each time Sanford had a reason for his vote. Most often it had to do with protecting Social Security, one of his original campaign promises.

Nearly every time he clashed with GOP leadership, pundits predicted his downfall. They said his voters back home would abandon him. They were wrong.

"Sanford tried to keep his promises in D.C. and now in Columbia," said Ken Anderson of Mount Pleasant. "That's why we like him."

Anderson was one of many Charleston area readers who wrote into the paper following the pig stunt. He said in an interview he has followed Sanford for a long time, and he thinks the governor has a lot of good ideas.

"The only problem is politicians in the North and South are desperate to hang onto their power," Anderson said. "Sanford is trying to change things. Now, he might be guilty of not being as smooth an operator as he could be, but I think that's why a lot of people like him."

State Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island, said that is a pretty common opinion, regardless of the politician.

"People don't like institutions, they like individuals," he said. "People can focus on the governor. That gives him a better podium to express his ideas."

Merrill works in public relations and has handled many campaigns over the years. He understands how to create and maintain the cult of personality. However, he said there are dangers to that practice.

"To just do a slash and burn strategy is not the best way to go about governance," he said. "A lot of us here feel frustrated. I think the governor needs to learn that sometimes it's not his message that gets him in trouble with legislators but how he delivers it."

'GOV. GRANDSTAND'

Statehouse insiders have accused Sanford of sabotaging his own agenda. The governor listed 16 legislative items as priorities this year. The House passed 14 of them. The Senate passed three.

Sanford's major items, however, including income tax reduction, government restructuring, increasing the number of charter schools and offering tax credits for private schools died slow deaths this year.

Several times during the session, when these very items were under debate, Sanford would hold press conferences to lash out at the Legislature. On more than one occasion, the governor took aim directly at legislators with his agenda in their hands.

This has led some to label him "Gov. Grandstand."

On the last day of the session, House and Senate Democrats gathered outside the statehouse to bash a "do-nothing General Assembly led by a do-nothing governor."

Joe Erwin, the S.C. Democratic Party chairman, perhaps beginning a future run against Sanford, gave a short speech during the event. Without naming him, he took aim at Sanford.

"Political power does not equal leadership," Erwin said. "We need more people to work together and stop the grandstanding."

Grandstanding. Leading by press release. These were all criticisms of former state Attorney General Charlie Condon.

Condon's successor, Henry McMaster, on the other hand, has been praised since taking over for his ability to work with the General Assembly.

Still, he said he likes what the governor is doing.

"We have different approaches," McMaster said. "But I think it's a case of different paths to the same destination. He has taken aim at some tough things. But I think he will eventually get everybody on board with him."

Others are not so sure. Just this week Sanford was quoted as saying he had an "epiphany" that changes would not be made in Columbia by making friends.

Still, it is unlikely, once the upcoming elections are over, that legislators will cower before his high approval ratings.

All of which could add up to a session even more contentious than the one that just ended.

"As long as Mark's poll numbers rise, he sees himself as successful," said state Rep. John Graham Altman III, R-Charleston. "But at this rate, he is well on his way to being the most ineffective governor in the history of South Carolina."

The question is, if he spends the next two years unable to get the Legislature on board with his programs, will voters be willing to give him another four years.

"People on the inside may say he's grandstanding, but for now the public thinks he is communicating," Bass said. "But perceptions change over time. How long can he keep this up? Right now, he doesn't have a Democrat campaigning against him, asking him publicly to point to what he has accomplished. Things can change very quick in politics."

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