TIME has named Glenn Beck one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
And they commissioned another member of their TIME 100, Sarah Palin, to write the article praising Beck.
"Who'd have thought a history buff with a quirky sense of humor and a chalkboard could make for such riveting television?" Palin wrote of Beck, who she compared to the high school government teacher so many wish they'd had, charting and connecting ideas with chalk-dusted fingers -- kicking it old school -- instead of becoming just another talking-heads show host."
Palin described Beck as "America's professor of common sense" and says that "he's doing to progressive what Ronald Reagan did to liberal -- explaining that it's a damaged brand."
"Best of all, Glenn delights in driving the self-proclaimed powers-that-be crazy," Palin wrote. "Though he sometimes dismisses himself as an aw-shucks guy or just a 'rodeo clown,' he's really an inspiring patriot who was once at the bottom but now makes a much needed difference from the very, very top."
In August, Palin urged her Facebook fans to watch Beck's show; when she joined Fox News, she appeared on his show, where the pair offered to host "Saturday Night Live" together.
Read Palin's full ode to Beck here.