Choosing the president: Who can fix the financial mess?

John Hanzlik has been hit twice by the housing slowdown.

As a subcontractor specializing in natural gas projects, his business has dried up as fewer homes are built.

As a Bluffton homeowner, he couldn't find a buyer for his ranch home when the mortgage became too much for him.

"(My business) is going to fold here pretty soon," he said. "My home is going to be foreclosed on by the end of December."

A few years ago, Hanzlik's business, Gas Man Installations, brought in more than $250,000 a year.

Now times are different.

"I have to put my quarters and dimes together just to buy gas to get to work," he said.

For Hanzlik, what happens to consumer confidence and the economy after the Nov. 4 election could determine whether he can keep his failing business open.

Given the very real impact of the economic problems on his life, who's Hanzlik's first choice for the Oval Office?

No one on the current ballot.

"I say it every day, 'Where's Ross Perot when you need him?'<2009>" Hanzlik said.

Although he pines for theonsense economic approach of 1992 and 1996 presidential candidate Perot, he's leaning Democrat this time.

"(Sen. Barack) Obama might do something," Hanzlik said. "He's got some good ideas on TV."

With the presidential election less than a month away, voters -- in South Carolina and nationwide -- consistently rank the economy as their No. 1 concern. As a result, those voters are looking closely at the candidates' economic proposals affecting jobs, energy and housing.

S.C. TAKES A HIT

The economic gloom has hit coastal South Carolina hard.

• Data from AAA of the Carolinas shows Americans are driving fewer miles this year as gas prices were on the rise. For tourism-dependent areas like Hilton Head Island and Myrtle Beach, it could be disastrous if prices go back up. Tourism officials estimate three out of four travelers to Hilton Head come by car.

• Hotel stays on Hilton Head are down since last year. The occupancy rate at island resorts through August has fallen 3.5 percent from a year ago. Charleston has seen occupancy drop 5.8 percent, while Myrtle Beach has seen its occupancy rate drop 6.1 percent.

• Home prices have fallen by 3.5 percent in the state, with the number of sales falling more than 23 percent.

On Hilton Head and in surrounding area, the sale of homes and condos have fallen 19.5 percent through August compared to last year. Prices are down 7.5 percent in that same time period. Charleston has seen sales fall 30 percent, with prices down 1.4 percent.

ANXIETY ABOUNDS

A recent Winthrop/ETV poll of Southern voters, including South Carolinians, found more than four in 10 rated their financial conditions as either "fair" or "poor."

Myrtle Beach real estate broker Tom Middleton said he supports Republican Sen. John McCain for his tax and energy policies.

Gas prices really hurt Myrtle Beach tourism this season, he said. The quickest way to lower fuel prices, Middleton thinks, is to drill off-shore.

He also thinks McCain is more likely to cut taxes, which he believes would help Myrtle Beach's economy.

What will really help the economy, and therefore the real estate market, is just choosing a new president on Nov. 4, said Andy Twisdale, a Realtor with Charter I North Realty & Marketing on Hilton Head.

He's supporting McCain, but from a professional standpoint, what matters is the election, he said.

"Traditionally, presidential elections do create some sense of a wait-and-see attitude in consumers," Twisdale said.

That attitude has been amplified by all the other tough economic news, from the tightening loan market to the stock market crash to higher fuel costs.

After the election, the public will at least have a sense that there's a new direction for the country, which could convince on-the-fence buyers to buy, Twisdale said.

AN IMPORTANT CHOICE

Jack Daly, owner of The Frozen Moo on Hilton Head, relies on tourists to buy his ice cream. Looking forward, he's pretty sure his business can handle a recession, but not a full-blown economic depression.

The way Daly sees it, people still will take vacations during a recession, but will stay at home entirely during a depression.

That's what scares him about Obama's economic policies.

"Barack Obama has promised a lot of things to a lot of people," Daly said.

He's worried those promises will lead to higher taxes, more government spending, more government debt and, ultimately, a depression.

Fear over Obama's economic policies and a preference for McCain's views on military policy means Daly will be voting Republican on Election Day.

Carla Golden, owner of Golden Touch Massage Therapy on Hilton Head, sees a much different picture. She prefers Obama's steady calmness to tackle foreign crises.

She also favors the Illinois senator's fiscal policies, even if they might cost her affluent family some money. The more important issue, Golden said, is economic fairness for everyone.

"I don't live in a vacuum," she said. "I live in a community."

The (Columbia) State contributed to this story.