In his review today of the Atlantic Theater Company's production political comedy Farragut North — soon to be a film from George Clooney — NYT reporter/heartthrob Patrick Healy can't resist getting in a few jabs about his many months covering the Hillary Clinton campaign. The play from former Howard Dean staffer Beau Willimon characterizes the interplay between campaign officials and the reporters who cover them, and Healy isn't shy about putting the blame somewhere specific.Since the play concerns itself partly with the interplay between campaign flacks and reporters, Healy is able to offer a look at the reality of the fiction:

Some of those on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign alienated reporters by calling at 11 p.m. — as soon as their stories hit the Web — and demanding deletions of unflattering adjectives. Obama spokesmen have sometimes counterattacked too lightly, because Mr. Obama pledged to run a clean campaign. McCain spokesmen risked their credibility by raging against the news media to delegitimize critical stories.

Healy has even earned the ire of Media Matters for what the site described as unfair coverage of the Clintons' sexual relationships. He must not care for that family very much, no. Healy quotes Bill Clinton's last press secretary on what Farragut North captures that other political satires miss:

"The West Wing did pull back the curtain on the role of staffers, but the one thing that I thought they didn’t quite accurately capture was the idea of the bad apple," said Joe Lockhart, President Bill Clinton’s last press secretary, who was also a spokesman on Senator John Kerry’s campaign in 2004. "There are a lot sharper elbows. In the real world, where staffers are getting tons of exposure on cable TV, it’s not hard to see people thinking it’s about them, not the candidate."

Next time hopefully Healy will name names. Farragut North opens Nov. 12.