While no presidential campaign or term exists without at least a whisper of scandal, Nicolle Wallace's time in the political world was undoubtedly tempestuous. She served as Florida State Technology Office's Communications Director during the infamous Bush-Gore recount in 2000. When the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, Wallace was a special assistant to President Bush. Seven years later, she would serve as a senior advisor on John McCain's presidential campaign. This meant Wallace also worked closely with the famously chaotic vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. 

Palin later blamed Wallace for a particularly devastating interview with Katie Couric in the former governor's memoir, "Going Rogue," which Wallace claimed was rooted in haphazard obsessions and pre-existing prejudices (via CBS). Nonetheless, Wallace knew the importance of maintaining open and (relatively) healthy lines of communication, no matter how difficult. "If someone wants to throw me under the bus," Wallace wrote to Politico in 2008, "my personal belief is that the most graceful thing to do is to lie there." 

And lie there she did — but not without taking a few notes to use later for a future novel or three. According to the Los Angeles Times, Wallace was inspired by Lauren Weisberger's not-so-fictional novel "The Devil Wears Prada," which served as a thinly veiled critique and analysis of Vogue magazine and its stern, icy leader, Anna Wintour. Wallace believed she could do the same thing using her experience as a White House staffer — so she did.