NATCHEZ — It’s the economy, stupid.

Though there are other issues on the table — two wars, immigration reform and the standard social issues — the slogan popularized during Bill Clinton’s campaign in 1992 seems to sum up what many Miss-Lou residents are feeling.

“Everyone is feeling the pinch, no matter what their overall economic standing,” Adams County Republican Executive Committee member Pat Dickens said.

This is the first in a five-part Sunday series examining how the issues of the presidential election effect locals.

Next Sunday: How the new president could shape the future of fuel production in the Miss-Lou.

Hot issues according to Miss-Lou voters: war in Iraq, energy, taxes, housing, immigration, abortion, same-sex marriage

What issues is most important to you? Tell us online at www.natchezdemocrat.com.

Gas, food and electric costs are up, and the value of the dollar is down. It’s obvious that the high price of foreign oil is leading to trouble for Miss-Lou families, Natchez resident Janet Dillard said.

“It makes it very hard for people to make ends meet,” she said.

Dillard’s concerns are quite in step with the rest of the country, said David Breaux, head of the department of political science and public administration at Mississippi State University.

People don’t debate abortion, immigration or same-sex marriage when they are worried about putting food on the table.

The struggle of the public and local governments to stay within their budgets has shifted the focus from moral issues, which figured heavily in the last several elections, to economic issues, Breaux said.

“I think now, with gasoline prices soaring and the housing market the way it is, companies are being forced to cut back, the state government and cities are being forced to tighten their belts,” Breaux said.

And the average Joe is talking about a solution to the country’s economic woes.

James Wiggins, professor of history at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, said one of the best things the next administration can do is to develop renewable energy sources and decrease the county’s reliance on foreign energy.

“Renewable energy is the next big economy of the world,” he said.

Dickens thinks the candidate with the strongest economic policy will win.

“The candidate who comes out and takes a strong stand on alternative fuel issues, and the candidate who has the skill in explaining what we can do for our economy, I think that is the candidate who will ultimately prevail,” Dickens said.

Other issues

But while the economy is a big issue, it’s not all voters are talking about.

Natchez resident Lillian Noble said she is greatly concerned about the war in Iraq and wants to see it addressed by the next president.

“Too many young people are being destroyed over there,” she said.

Noble said while she realizes the problem is not one that could be quickly solved she felt the next president should focus on a solution to the war.

While Dickens said immigration was an issue, she said she thought it had been pushed into the periphery of political thought by the focus on the economy.

But it is exactly because of the perceived state of the economy that immigration is an issue, said Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez.

“Because the economy is bad, people will come into the country and work for less,” Johnson said. “Immigration, education, jobs — people are just not doing as well as they have been doing. They’re looking for someone to blame.”

Natchezian Michelle Williams said she would like to see the next president address public education in a significant way.

Williams said students would derive more benefit from a traditional education with the introduction of practical life skills.

“They need to know history,” she said. “But they also need to know things not commonly seen in the classroom.”

Williams said students should receive an education that includes instruction on topics like maintaining good credit and introduction to law.

“Those are the types of things students need but don’t get in the class,” she said.

The bigger picture

Even though the economy and the price of gasoline will play a significant role in the election, Adams County Republican Executive Committee Chair Sue Stedman doesn’t think that single issue will completely outweigh the traditional issues.

“The difference in these candidates is great enough that I don’t see people voting for McCain or Obama singularly over the gasoline issue,” Stedman said. “I think there is too much to be considered in this election.”

No matter which candidate is chosen, though, voters are going to have to choose how much of this campaign season’s buzzword — change — they want, Breaux said.

“The issue for Obama is how much change are you willing to accept, because with change comes risk,” Breaux said. “Are (voters) comfortable enough to vote for Obama? I think McCain is probably campaigning on some issues and, if he’s elected, will do things differently from what we’ve seen with George Bush, but the amount of change would be more drastic if Obama were elected.”

Even though the president doesn’t have the power to fix everything, Stedman said the president has a lot of influence.

“The president has a lot of leverage with congress,” Stedman said. “He is not the one out there creating the legislation, but he certainly influences it and directs it, and he can do a pretty good job to get a vote he is particularly interested in.”

It’s because of that influence, and the level of visibility the president has, that Breaux said he’s sympathetic for whoever becomes president.

“These are hard (issues.) I kind of feel sorry for whoever wins in November because these are hard issues to deal with,” Breaux said. “To actually resolve some of these issues — if they can be (resolved) — it’s going to take a real statesman that’s willing to embrace some pretty unpopular policies.

“I don’t know if either party is willing to do that. I just don’t know if either one of (the candidates) has the blueprint to do anything about them.”