Game Change (2012 TV Movie)

Sarah Paulson: Nicolle Wallace

Photos 

Quotes 

• Sarah Palin : [on the phone]  Why'd you make me do Katie Couric? Did you see the coverage? Did you?

  [silence] 

  Sarah Palin : [shouting]  Are you there? Are you listening to me?

  Nicolle Wallace : Yes, Governor, I'm here. Katie was a logical choice; she's been very fair to us this entire campaign.

  Sarah Palin : You call that interview fair?

  Nicolle Wallace : Yes, Governor, I do.

  Sarah Palin : I certainly don't, she was out to get me from the get-go!

  Nicolle Wallace : No, she wasn't! The interview sucked because you didn't try!

  Sarah Palin : What, what do you mean I didn't try?

  Nicolle Wallace : You didn't fight back, like you did in the Charlie Gibson interview - when you didn't know the answers, you clawed your way back and it went fine! You just gave up!

  Sarah Palin : [through gritted teeth]  Nicolle, it wasn't my fault; I wasn't... properly... prepped!

  Nicolle Wallace : [angrily]  You weren't properly prepped because you wouldn't *listen* to us! You never *listen* to your advisers!

  Sarah Palin : [heatedly]  Because you're overwhelming me with *too much information*! You know, I-I don't, I don't wanna do these interviews! I want to do what I want to do!

  Nicolle Wallace : [sighs]  We're just trying to help you get through this, Governor. All we want is for you to succeed.

  Sarah Palin : [scoffs]  Yeah, you're *not* helping! You're just screwing me up! You're telling me what to say, what to wear, how to talk...

  [shouting] 

  Sarah Palin : I am not your puppet! Now I understand what Hillary meant when she said she had to find her own voice!

  Nicolle Wallace : [incredulously]  Yeah... 'cause you're just like Hillary.

  Sarah Palin : You have ruined me! You have ruined my reputation!

  [shouting] 

  Sarah Palin : I am ruined in Alaska!

  [Palin throws her phone against the wall. On Wallace's end, the line goes dead. Shaking her head, she dials a new number] 

  Steve Schmidt : Hi, it's Steve Schmidt. Leave a message.

  Nicolle Wallace : Steve, it's Nicolle. I will gladly resign if you want to blame me for Couric. But if you want me to stay, then I'm back on McCain's bus tomorrow, as I never want to deal with that woman ever again!

• John McCain : [nervous about Sarah's convention speech]  I don't know. I don't know.

  Steve Schmidt : Hey, she's gonna be fine.

  John McCain : Really?

  Steve Schmidt : Absolutely.

  [Steve wanders over to Nicolle] 

  Steve Schmidt : Is she gonna be okay?

  Nicolle Wallace : I'm more concerned about one-on-ones.

  Steve Schmidt : How bad?

  Nicolle Wallace : I'm not sure how much she knows about foreign policy. She didn't know why North and South Korea were different countries.

• Nicolle Wallace : [the office is applauding Sarah's convention speech]  She did it without a teleprompter. It broke halfway through her speech.

  John McCain : You're kidding.

  Nicolle Wallace : No.

  John McCain : If that happens to me tomorrow night, I'm fucked.

• Steve Schmidt : Governor, do you know why we're in Iraq?

  Sarah Palin : Because Saddam Hussein attacked us on 9/11.

  Steve Schmidt : No, no, Al Qaeda attacked us on 9/11

  Sarah Palin : Not Saddam Hussein?

  Steve Schmidt : No, it was Al Qaeda. That's why we're in Afghanistan.

  Nicolle Wallace : Do you know the primary differences between the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq?

  [Palin doesn't answer] 

• Nicolle Wallace : [on Election Night]  Steve... there's something I have to tell you.

  Steve Schmidt : Sure.

  Nicolle Wallace : ...I didn't vote.

  [starts to cry] 

  Nicolle Wallace : I couldn't do it... I didn't vote...

  [Steve pulls her into a hug] 

  Nicolle Wallace : I couldn't do it...

  Steve Schmidt : It's all right.

• Nicolle Wallace : [on Palin]  She's having a mini-meltdown.

• Nicolle Wallace : Do you think the Fed did the right thing in their dealing with the Bear Stearns collapse?

  Sarah Palin : Our economy is hurting, and the federal government has not provided the sound oversight that we need and that we deserve. I think we need a little bit of reality from Wasilla Main Street there brought to Washington DC so that the people there can understand how the average working class family is viewing bureaucracy in the federal government.

  Steve Schmidt : Governor, do you know what the Fed is?

  Sarah Palin : In what respect, Charlie?

  Steve Schmidt : No, no, this is me, Steve, asking do you know what the Fed is?

  [Palin doesn't answer] 

  Steve Schmidt : Um... stands for the Federal Reserve System...

  [Palin starts taking notes] 

  Steve Schmidt : No, please, don't write, just listen. The Fed is responsible for all monetary policy in the United States.

• Sarah Palin : Did you get the numbers?

  Nicolle Wallace : The what?

  Sarah Palin : My approval rating in Alaska.

  Nicolle Wallace : They're not in yet.

  Sarah Palin : I'm trying to trust you people, but you're making it really hard for me!