As the nation commemorates the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., voters interviewed from across The T&D Region say the devastating event will also be on their minds as they cast their ballots for the highest office in the land.

A couple of voters say the nation’s rocky economy, which is marked by high unemployment rates and skyrocketing food and fuel prices, will be first among the issues they’ll consider during the presidential election in November. National security, however, and who would be best prepared to keep the nation safe from another terrorist attack are not far behind, they say.

The 9-11 attacks destroyed the World Trade Center towers and severely damaged the Pentagon, claiming more than 6,000 lives and spawning the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

How heavy will the impact of that event weigh on voters’ choices for the next leader of the free world?

“A little bit, but that’s not the only thing. I don’t think that the president in any way, shape or form could have prevented what happened that day. Certainly, he could have helped to correct the issue, but I don’t think the president could have prevented it,” Sawyerdale resident Kim Jackson said.

She said she’s not sure what the answer is in determining how a president can keep the nation completely safe from another terrorist attack, an event she said largely took the entire country by surprise. “He would have to have ESP, so to speak, to be able to do that. Honestly, I don’t know what the answer is. I hate that all the troops are over there (in Afghanistan and Iraq). I hate all the loss of lives, but what else are you going to do? You have to do something,” Jackson said. “I’m not saying I agree with everything that’s gone on over there, but you have to do something. Where do you start? I don’t know.”

Norway resident Mary Wade said while she is undecided as to which presidential candidate she will choose in November, she is looking for a different kind of politics that will bring effective change. She said while she won’t necessarily be preoccupied with the events of Sept. 11 when she casts her vote, she will be thinking about its overall impact.

“You do think about what happened to all those people. It would be strong on my mind because you don’t want that to happen to anybody again,” she said, noting that she is still weighing who will be best for the job of leading the nation.

“I don’t know which way I want to go. The way I’m looking at it, I think (Illinois Sen. Barack) Obama’s going to do something different for us because (Arizona Sen. John) McCain and all of the Republicans are thinking along the same lines,” Wade said.

Orangeburg resident Celia Richardson said the nation’s security will also “indirectly” be on her mind at the polls.

“I guess indirectly I’ve thought about Sept. 11 because I’ve thought about our country’s and our world’s safety and security. I’m looking for experience when I vote,” she said, noting that the events of Sept. 11 won’t be the “main reason I’ll choose a candidate.”

“It’ll be on my mind because of the impact that it had on our whole country and because of the victims and their families,” Swansea resident Pam Booth said.

“That’s also my mother’s birthday, but I’m looking for a leader who can continue to do everything that they can to protect our country. We’re just lucky to live in a country where we are free. That’s why we start our Pledge of Allegiance every morning,” said Booth, a third-grade teacher at Orangeburg Preparatory School.

Still, other voters say the economy is what will be first and foremost on their minds at the polls.

“Sept. 11 actually wouldn’t be on my mind at all. That has gone and passed. We’re already at war. ... The main thing that will be in my mind when I go and vote will be the economy,” Orangeburg resident Pamela Breland said. She said while national security is a concern of hers, it will not take precedence over who can provide better jobs and lower food and fuel prices.

“Sept. 11 did affect Americans. It could happen in South Carolina, per say. I mean, our well being is at stake. I have two young children, so that’s very important. I would want the world to be safe for them,” Breland said. But she said she’s also looking for a candidate who can “clean up the mess from the last eight years.”

Orangeburg resident Dr. Denatra Green-Stroman said she is focused on more immediate issues such as health care.

“I’m more leaning toward national issues: unemployment, health care and things like that. We have the highest unemployment rate in five years. We need health care. The gas is unreasonably high. It’s just so many things I have to deal with now,” Green-Stroman said.

“Food has gone up like weekly. So, my focus has been on who can lower the prices,” she said, noting that the impact of Sept. 11 has largely made it more difficult for Americans to navigate themselves through the system of government.

“It made it more difficult to do some simple things like getting a driver’s license and Social Security. I think it just made it harder for the average American to negotiate the governmental system versus the terrorists,” she said.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534.

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