2012 Honoree

Nicole Wallace

Bestselling Author and Political Analyst

“I’ve been blessed with an embarrassment of good luck. My greatest challenge has been never feeling like I’ve done enough—-personally or professionally. Maybe grappling with that challenge is what keeps motivating me to try new things.”

What do you think of the media’s portrayal of women?

There’s plenty of room for improvement. In politics, it’s uneven, at best. In 2008, the media held Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin to standards that none of the men were held to. In business, women are often covered for being excellent CEO’s and busy moms–rarely is that coverage seen of men. In entertainment, it’s all about beauty and bodies.

Have you seen any changes in the political landscape for women over the past few years? What are they?

The high profile candidacies of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton were groundbreaking. More women seem to be throwing their hat in the ring, but I don’t think our numbers have changed much, and certainly not fast enough. There are some strong women running in this cycle–Elizabeth Warren and Linda McMahon are running very tough campaigns–but we need many more women at all levels of government.

Do you feel the extreme left and right wings of U.S. politics are destroying the United in United States, or is it just healthy debate?

It’s something in between the two. The media pays much more attention to the extremes than voters do, thank god. Most people are turned off by extreme anything, especially politics.

Do you feel the decline of religion in the rest of the Western World will have an effect on U.S. society? If so, will it be good or bad?

I need more time to think that one through.

Can you tell us about one of the biggest challenges in your life that you think helped you become the person you are today?

I’ve been blessed with an embarrassment of good luck. My greatest challenge has been never feeling like I’ve done enough–personally or professionally. Maybe grappling with that challenge is what keeps motivating me to try new things.

Do today’s young people face a bigger challenge than you did?

It seems like the world is changing so fast–at least the world of politics and media, and I’d hope that more opportunities would be available to young people because of those changes.