FLORENCE -- Saturday morning at Bazen's Restaurant in downtown Florence is a political scientist's dream come true.

Packed with diners, all reading morning newspapers, discussing current events and familiar with the issues, politics is the staple of breakfast conversation at Bazen's. Sure, people have opinions about how the University of South Caroloina basketball team will do against Ole Miss later in the day, but it's politics that makes up the weight of breakfast conversation.

With waitresses slinging plates of hot eggs, pancakes and bacon, diners mull over the issues in the Tuesday S.C. Democratic Presidential primary. Many in this crowd are Republicans, which is not surprising. George W. Bush carried Florence County handily in the 2000 election, as did Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, in 2002.

Thursday: Chesterfield and Marlboro Counties Friday:Dillon and Darlington Counties Saturday: Marion and Williamsburg Counties Sunday: Florence County

But the same issues influencing Democrats in their voting decisions are influencing the Republicans too.

"Bush needs to get his act together," said Stan Brockington, a 52-year-old banker and a staunch Republican. "He doesn't seem to care about the middle class, and he needs to change that."

Brockington said he'll vote for Bush in November no matter who the Democrats nominate, but he'd like to see some changes.

Asked how he thinks the Democratic primary is shaping up, Brockington said he sees a John Kerry-John Edwards ticket forming to take on Bush in November. But he said the biggest issue facing any candidate who wants to be president is unemployment.

"I'm in banking," Brockington said. "And in my job, I see a lot of people hurting. Bush is living in a little glass castle. He's had everything handed to him, and that's a shame. He needs to see how people are hurting right now."

Two seats down from Brockington at the counter in the middle of all the activity is George Estrada.

A 50-year-old unemployed electronics technician, Estrada came to America in 1964 from Cuba.

He said he's a Republican, and has not heard anything from the Democratic candidates to keep him from voting for Bush.

"I've been listening to the candidates," Estrada said. "It's just a lot of talk, but no real action. I don't feel like any of the candidates are presidential material."

Despite being unemployed, Estrada thinks the economy will pick up, along with hiring.

"In America, you can always find a job," Estrada said. "You may have to take a job you don't want, but you can work."

Across the counter from Estrada, Haigh Porter takes a seat, as he usually does on Saturday mornings, to read the paper, drink his coffee and have a plate of eggs and grits. Porter, a life-long Democrat, and the former mayor of Florence, agrees that high unemployment is the issue framing the campaign.

"In this area it's got to be the number one issue," Porter said. "I see it daily serving as a special referee in foreclosure cases. Look at the ads in the paper every day, it's filled with foreclosures, and most of them have been due to people losing their jobs."

But other issues are also a big concern to voters Porter said, most of them having to do with the economy.

"I was in the drug store the other day, and I saw someone getting their prescriptions filled," Porter said. "I knew this woman, and when she got the bill, I wondered how she could possibly pay for it."

Porter keeps a close eye on the race, and pays attention to what voters are saying. He also pays attention to polls.

"I think it's going to be very close between Kerry and Edwards," Porter said. "I thought that all along, and now the polls are saying the same thing."

Like Brockington, Porter thinks Kerry will win the nomination, and ask Edwards to be his vice presidential running mate.

"That would be a pretty good ticket, wouldn't it?" Porter said.

While most of the Republicans having breakfast at Bazen's Saturday morning were concerned about the same issues as the Democrats, a few weren't.

"I'm only paying attention to the primary because you can't avoid it," said Cara Murphy. "I'm a Republican, and I'll vote for Bush."

Her husband Larry Murphy, 65, said high unemployment concerns him, but not enough to change his party loyalty.

"I'm concerned abouts jobs," Larry Murphy said. "But there are jobs out there, the thing is, they're probably not qualified for the jobs because they dropped out of high school."