The Rendell gubernatorial era was choked with one fiery policy fight after another - and nonetheless produced a long list of wins for his administration and a record of successes few other governors could boast. Even his critics give him that.
But there is a sense of Rendell fatigue, too, almost as if he exhausted everyone who worked inside the Capitol. Some Republicans are carrying clocks in their pockets that tick down, to the second, the time until noon Tuesday, when Rendell leaves and Gov.-elect Tom Corbett takes over.
Such is the complicated legacy that Rendell leaves in Harrisburg, one colored not just by what he did but - fairly or not - by who he is and how he behaved in the state's top office.
"It's going to take time for the dust to settle and to evaluate his impact," said Eric Epstein, founder of the activist group RocktheCapital.com and an early-on Rendell enthusiast. "But I think it's fair to say that he excelled at the four Es: education, energy, the environment - and Ed."
Rendell, unsurprisingly, labels his tenure a triumphant one.
Among the achievements he touted during an exit interview with reporters: investments that modernized Pennsylvania's classrooms, reduced class sizes, improved test scores, increased access to full-day kindergarten, and pumped billions in economic-development funding into towns and cities across the state.
He said he had accomplished "a great deal of the progressive agenda set forth in the 2002 campaign."
The real story is more nuanced.
From the start, Rendell agitated the entrenched political rhythms in the capital. He was different from the typical Harrisburg insider, staffer, or legislator - and, for that matter, most previous Pennsylvania governors.
