Clinton & Co. on the Warpath

Bill Clinton and former members of his administration are very unhappy with ABC's THE PATH TO 9/11 and its portrayal of the administration's "wall" between the FBI and CIA and its missed opportunities to capture Bin Laden (which Bill Clinton himself described in a 2002 speech, only to recant his statements years later).

The former President personally called the head of Disney/ABC, Robert Iger, to ask that the program be edited. Now Madeleine Albright, Sandy Berger, and Bruce Lindsey have all written ABC to protest the film.

The idea that Sandy Berger, the man who stole Clinton Administation documents regarding 9/11 from the National Archives, would attempt to act as some sort of arbiter of truth is particularly amusing.

ABC is rumored to have made "minor edits" over the holiday weekend, following the former President's phone call.

The New York Times reports an ABC spokesperson appears to be leaving the door open to further changes: "It is common practice to continue to make edits to strengthen a project right up to the broadcast date."

There are literally hundreds of "screeners" already in the hands of talk show hosts and pundits. Hopefully ABC is smart enough to realize that if they cave in to pressure from Clinton & Co., it will soon be obvious to the American public.

Thursday Update: Mr. Clinton is apparently going so far as to demand the movie not be shown if it's not censored.

Rush Limbaugh points out this morning that the movie is also critical of Republicans, and, for example, it takes Richard Clarke seriously when most conservatives think he's a "doofus." Yet Republicans aren't up in arms and complaining. Rush says that this episode shows just how flimsy the "Clinton legacy" is, when the Clintonites aren't able to just ignore any supposed errors and move on. They apparently fear that a single TV-movie can undo the administration's reputation.