DESPERATELY SEEKING THE BEST: Nicolle Wallace has started a podcast!

TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2025

In our view, she chose an unfortunate name: Concern about Medicaid coverage is OUT! By now, it's long, long gone. 

In its place, focus on the Jeffrey Epstein client list is now very much IN.

The zone gets flooded with amazing speed at this point. Also, does anything around here ever make any real sense? 

We now have major Democratic politicians calling for the release of the Epstein files. Does the work of the Justice Department really proceed in some such manner? After some sort of investigation, does the DOJ release a mountain of files about the various people who aren't being charged with crimes—most of whom, with great likelihood, may have done nothing wrong?

Is that the way the system works? We're going to guess that it isn't! Meanwhile, in her new column for the New York Times, Michelle Goldberg offers this portrait of the way some of us imperfect humans are sometimes inclined to behave:

Trump’s Fans Forgive Him Everything. Why Not Epstein?

[...]

Epstein was a major subject at Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit, a conservative conference that began on Friday. Speaking from the stage in Tampa, Fla., the comedian Dave Smith accused Trump of actively covering up “a giant child rapist ring.” The audience cheered and applauded.

Having nurtured conspiracy theories for his entire political career, Trump suddenly seems in danger of being consumed by one. In many ways it’s delicious to watch, but there’s also reason for anxiety, because for some in Trump’s movement, this setback is simply proof that they’re up against a conspiracy more powerful than they’d ever imagined.

[...]

[T]he administration lies all the time—that alone doesn’t explain why this issue has so tested the MAGA coalition. To understand why it’s such a crisis, you need to understand the crucial role that Epstein plays in the mythologies buttressing MAGA. The case is of equal interest to QAnon types, who see in Epstein’s crimes proof of their conviction that networks of elite pedophiles have hijacked America, and of right-wing critics of Israel, who are convinced that Epstein worked for the Mossad, the country’s spy service.

Trumpism has always been premised on the idea that he’s warring against dark, even satanic globalist forces, and within the movement there’s a fierce yearning for the cathartic moment when those forces will be exposed and vanquished. The Epstein files were supposed to show the world, once and for all, the scale of the evil system that [some of] Trump’s voters believe he is fighting.

We've added two important words in that fine sentence. As Goldberg specified earlier, we're speaking here about some of President Trump's voters. We aren't speaking about all such voters, probably not even most.

That to the side, so it seems to go in these latter days. For starters, consider this:

In the aftermath of the so-called "democratization of media," bro comedians have seized control of much of the American discourse. That extends all the way from the Fox News Channel on down.

In that passage, one comedian is quoted accusing Trump of covering up "a giant child rapist ring." Is something like that taking place in the various twists and turns of this current convoluted legal case? 

We have no idea. But as "democratization" has crept across the land, major portions of American discourse have been built around such fears, starting with the pictures of children on milk cartons and proceeding through the amazingly bungled preschool sex abuse trials of the 1980s.

Out in Los Angeles, the McMartin preschool case may have been the most famous. To refresh yourself about its strange evidentiary procedures, you can just click here. 

Back in New Jersey, the Wee Care preschool case also seemed to turn on hysterical investigative procedures. Writing for Harper's, Dorothy Rabinowitz performed important journalism concerning that case. Somehow, the apparent fever surrounding these (and other) cases seemed to break at some point.

From there, it was onward toward QAnon's belief that the world is in the hands of a bunch of Democratic Party child sex abusers who are also cannibals. A pleasing summer on cable news pre-convicting Gary Condit helped us transition to that point, though that case focused on an intern.

A remarkable number of people seemed to accept the improbable claims at the heart if the QAnon craze. This seems to be one of the ways we imperfect humans are sometimes inclined to think. 

In short, the democratization of media, producing the ease with which such fevers can be spread, has helped create a world in which what may have been secret or latent fears are secret or latent no more. The widespread acceptance of such improbable claims reveals what may be a surprising fact:

There seems to be nothing so implausible that many of us imperfect humans may not be inclined to believe it.

What secret fears lurk in the hearts of people?  Today, thanks to democratization, few such secrets are left:

Was Barack Obama born in Kenya? For an amazing percentage of GOP voters, saying it seemed to make it so—and the current president made himself the king of the birthers through years of spreading braindead claims at the Fox News Channel.

Was the 2020 election rigged and stolen? The sitting president still hotly advances that claim, again and again and again and again. Many of his voters still seem to regard this claim as true, even after it has generally been abandoned by employees of that same "cable news" channel.

It's long been easy for those of us in Blue America to mock the voters in Red America who seem prepared to believe whatever the president says. That said, have there been any tiny flaws in our own Blue America's game—tiny flaws which may have helped the sitting president end up in the White House again?

We Blues have found it very hard to see the things we may have done to help the current sitting president attain his current status. We humans are gifted with limited cognition, and that's even true Over Here!

Why might someone who isn't crazy vote for Donald J. Trump? In our view, the answers are many and the answers are obvious—to everyone except maybe Us.

At this site, we thought of that hole in Blue America's game as we listened to the first episode of yet another new podcast. More accurately, we thought of that hole in Blue America's game when we saw the name of the podcast—the name its creator chose:

The Best People with Nicolle Wallace

Who are The Best People? They’re the most magnetic and engaging people in the room; the ones who know how to get that extra something out of every collaboration, connection, and endeavor. These are people who are the best at what they do and know how to bring out the best in others. Now, in an era of social and political upheaval, The Best People share lessons that we can all use. Listen as Nicolle Wallace seeks varied perspectives on how to keep reaching for truth, decency, and connection.

Wallace will be speaking with "The Best People!" When the analysts saw that name, they furiously tore at their hair, then ran out into the yard.

For the record, Nicolle Wallace is a good, decent person. (She's also wealthy by this time, a small voice sardonically says.) She's been a major part of the American discourse ever since the early years of this century. The leading authority on her career starts its portrait as shown:

Nicolle Wallace

Nicolle Wallace (born February 4, 1972) is an American television political commentator and author. She is the anchor of the MSNBC news and politics program Deadline: White House and a former co-host of the ABC daytime talk show The View.....

In her former political career, Wallace served as the White House Communications Director during the second term of the presidency of George W. Bush and as the Communications Director for his 2004 re-election campaign. Wallace also served as a senior advisor for John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.

[...]

Since May 9, 2017, Wallace has been the anchor of the afternoon news and opinion program Deadline: White House on MSNBC. Deadline: White House garnered a total of 2 million viewers in July 2020, and in the following month, it was expanded to two hours.

Going back to her Republican days, Wallace has always been an extremely engaging "communicator." She has remained extremely engaging in the years since she, along with quite a few others, walked away from the GOP during these Donald Trump years.

MSNBC and CNN have slowly been routed by Fox in the "cable news" ratings wars. As this rout has developed, Deadline: White House has been one of MSNBC's most heavily watched programs. 

During the Biden years, the program focused heavily on the legal cases being brought against former President Trump. We thought that was poor political judgment. In fairness to Wallace, no one has perfect political judgment, except quite possibly us.

Wallace started out in the GOP; she switched over long ago. She's an extremely engaging communicator and also a good, decent person.

That said, we've long thought that her political judgment may have been faulty during the Deadline years. No one has perfect judgment, and that even includes us Blues. 

That said, even as many in the MAGA movement may seem to believe the darnedest things, those of us in Blue America may have holes in our game too. 

This brings us back to Wallace's podcast, which she calls The Best People. The analysts screamed and tore at their hair when they learned about that choice. 

After that, they ran out into the yard, where they rent their garments and howled. We thought they were overdoing it just a bit, but we did see their basic point. 

In our view, we Blues can learn about the holes which may exist in our game as we listen to, or as we watch, this new podcast's first episode.

Tomorrow: Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! (Or so the analysts said...)