The latest political memoir to be ruffling feathers in Washington is Chasing Hillary by The New York Times' Amy Chozick, who followed Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. The book, which has been described as "rollicking," "surprisingly intimate," and occasionally "perceptive, pithy, and surprising," has upset a number of its subjects, including, BuzzFeed News reports, Chozick's colleagues at the Times.
One group that fared particularly unwell is "Hillary's court of flattering men," which Chozick shortens to "The Guys." Each Guy has a pseudonym to protect his identity (or pride) — Original Guy, Brown Loafers Guy, Outsider Guy — although as Politico's Playbook team demonstrated Friday, it isn't exactly difficult to figure out who's who.
The Guys, for their part, aren't too thrilled with their names. Chozick describes Hired Gun Guy, aka Brian Fallon, as "the poor man's Ben Affleck," and when asked for a reaction by Politico, Fallon said: "Does this mean I have to go get an awful back tattoo?" Outsider Guy, aka Matt McKenna, responded to a question about his pseudonym by saying: "Am I Outsider Guy? Does a bear s--t in the woods?"
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Original Guy, aka Philippe Reines, had his own name ready for Chozick when Politico asked: "Error-Prone and Libelous Reporter Gal." Read the full unmasking at Politico.
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