I missed the big Gregoire administration bragfest Monday. Rich Roesler of the Spokesman was there posted this, though:

Filling in for a sick Gov. Chris Gregoire at her press conference yesterday were three state officials, including Gregoire's Chief of Staff Tom Fitzsimmons, who managed to use the word "great" a dozen times when describing aspects of Gregoire's leadership and current events.

(A sampling: "...A great website...great success...making great progress...great celebration...great history...great vibe...everything's great.")

The AP's Dave Ammons was there, too. He wrote that the "administration was in full "spin" cycle" as it touted recent good news. Republican state party chairman Luke Esser said that Gregoire should not be taking credit for either a booming economy or decreasing welfare rolls. Maybe Gary Locke should, though.

Maybe Gregoire even called Locke to thank him for doing some of the heavy lifting that at the time may have made him unpopular among some Democratic circles but now helps keep the economy rolling. (That'd be particularly nice — but also unlikely — given how hard Gregoire worked in her campaign to keep a safe distance from Locke.)

Esser said in a statement that welfare reform was a Republican idea. But in Olympia it was driven by Locke. And that put him at odds with some powerful legislative Democrats. He was able to get it through with Republican support.

There are many reasons why the economy is doing well. And there are probably just as many that a governor could take credit for as not. But one of the key successes touted by the Gregoire administration is the new Boeing jet. That was built here only after Locke pushed through a massive package of tax breaks and other incentives for Boeing. That put him at odds with labor and some legislative Democrats.

Locke also wrote a budget with program cuts but no tax increases. That ticked off some Democrats. Republican Dino Rossi was his best ally on that one. (And that may be one reason Locke doesn't get kudos form Democrats today on that subject.)

A smart guy told me this week that governors, like quarterbacks, get too much credit and too much blame. In this case, I think a past governor may not be getting enough credit.