These two Atrios posts put me in mind of a passage I've been meaning to pass along from David Remnick's "The Masochism Campaign" in this week's New Yorker (sorry about the missing link; I can't seem to find the piece online):

It's really remarkable how unwilling Blair's antagonists -- whether Tory or Labour -- are to give him credit for what's gone right in the past eight years: the lowest rate of inflation since the nineteen-fifties; a sharp decline in unemployment; sustained economic growth for every year in office; a historic breakthrough in the Northern Ireland dispute, leading to the 1998 Good Friday agreement and a near cessation of violence on both sides; the establishment of a parliament in Scotland, an assembly in Wales, and a mayoralty in London; an improvement in, or, at least, an end to the deterioration of, public services; an increase in the number of doctors, nurses, and dentists . . . and a reduction in the waiting period for surgery.

And people have a problem with that record?

Geez, talk about a tough crowd.

UPDATE: Fellow blogger Mike Kasper was kind enough to pass along the link in the comments. Thanks, Mike!