Ryan GrimVerified account

I go back and forth on this. I was in the unique position of being the person who had to on the record defend Palin to the pubs dishing up the most dirt on her-- HuffPost and TPM, at the time.https://twitter.com/thehill/status/993176839093964800 …

I mostly think it was a wash; McCain lost voters he would have had if he'd chosen Pawlenty, but he picked up others enthused by her.https://twitter.com/thehill/status/993176839093964800 …

Certainly, he elevated someone into national level politics that inspires very strong feelings. He also undoubtedly forced me to get a lot better at my job, and fast. So I feel I almost owe him a debt of gratitude...https://twitter.com/thehill/status/993176839093964800 …

...even though I do think Pawlenty would have had a much easier time running the country had McCain won and subsequently passed away than Palin would have.https://twitter.com/thehill/status/993176839093964800 …

Mostly, I think I feel sorry for Palin. She was taken from a stage for like 500k people and thrust onto a stage for 320 million +. Literally no one can do that and pull it off. And she did not. But she's also not the total dunce she's depicted as.https://twitter.com/thehill/status/993176839093964800 …

The woman does have some pretty sharp political instincts. She also does know a lot about energy policy, as that old PBS interview that re-aired during the 2008 GOP convention showed.https://twitter.com/thehill/status/993176839093964800 …