The New York Times story announcing her presidential appointment carried the headline: "New Aide Aims to Defrost the Press Room" and described Wallace's intentions "to improve the contentious relationship between a secretive White House and the press." According to The Washington Post, Wallace served as "a voice for more openness with reporters", and former colleagues describe Wallace as having been "very persuasive in the halls of the West Wing." She left the White House in July 2006 to relocate to New York City, where her husband Mark was representing the Bush Administration at the United Nations. Her White House colleague, presidential political advisor Mark McKinnon, called her a "rare talent in politics." McCain 2008 presidential campaign Wallace also served as a senior advisor for the John McCain 2008 presidential campaign. She appeared frequently on network and cable news programs as the campaign's top spokesperson and defender. In late October 2008, campaign aides criticized vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. One unnamed McCain aide said Palin had "gone rogue," placing her own future political interests ahead of the McCain/Palin ticket, directly contradicting her running mate's positions, and disobeying directions from campaign managers. In response to reports of dissension within the McCain-Palin campaign, Wallace issued a statement to both Politico and CNN saying: "If people want to throw me under the bus, my personal belief is that the most honorable thing to do is to lie there." Wallace was portrayed by Sarah Paulson in the 2012 film Game Change. Wallace described the film as highly credible, saying the film "captured the spirit and emotion of the campaign." Wallace also told ABC News Chief Political Correspondent George Stephanopoulos that the film was "true enough to make me squirm." Eight years after the election, Wallace stated that she did not vote for a presidential candidate in 2008 because Sarah Palin gave her pause. Other work White House novel series She is the author of the 2010 novel Eighteen Acres (a reference to the 18 acres on which the White House complex sits), a fictional narrative about three powerful women at the top of their careers: the first female U.S. President, her chief of staff, and a White House correspondent. Wallace said, "It's my best attempt at a story that I hope people will pick up and read and enjoy and maybe feel like they're getting to see what it's really like in the White House in