A 'Livid' Lawmaker

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

"Livid" Lawmaker

New Jersey Democrat Jon Corzine's (search) office put out a statement today saying the Senator was "livid" that President Bush "refused to allow" Jimmy Carter (search) to join the official U.S. delegation to the Vatican. Corzine accused the President of "injecting petty partisan politics" into the Pope's death, and called the "snub," "sad, disappointing, and extremely disturbing."

But Carter says he was invited to join the delegation and declined, saying that because of the limited number of invitations, he would defer to others who wanted to attend. What's more, Corzine now admits to FOX News that he hasn't spoken with President Carter on the issue and has no evidence to suggest that Carter was snubbed by the White House.

Didn't Write It, Didn't See It

All 55 Senate Republicans have now denied writing or distributing that disputed memo discussing the possible political benefits to the GOP of the Terri Schiavo (search) case — and what's more, all 55 tell the Washington Times they never even saw the document before it appeared in the press.

A Democratic Senate aide originally claimed to the Washington Post that the memo was circulated among Republican leaders on the Senate floor, before it was handed to a Democratic member by a Republican senator. But only one Democrat, Iowa's Tom Harkin (search), claims to have seen the memo on the Floor. Minority Leader Harry Reid declined to participate in the survey, but his spokesman says, "News outlets have investigated and authenticated the memo was real and came from Republican sources."

*Since this broadcast aired, Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida has revealed that the memo was authored by an aide in his office and he inadvertently handed it to Harkin. Martinez maintains he never read the memo before it left his hands.

Bredesen Backs Off

A day after telling the London Times that voters were "dissatisfied" with Hillary Clinton as a possible presidential candidate, Tennessee's Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen (search) is hastily backing off, saying his remarks were "reported out of context."

In an article headlined "Southern revolt on the ascent of Hillary," Bredesen was quoted as saying that Democrats need to look past Senator Clinton in 2008. A spokesman for the governor says Bredesen is "dismayed" about the portrayal of his comments and that his office called Senator Clinton to set the record straight. But the spokesman would not deny that Bredesen made the remarks.

Prayer Punishment

The ACLU (search) has asked a federal judge to punish school officials for allowing a pre-game prayer at a high school baseball game. Louisiana's ACLU director called the brief prayer for player safety "un-American and immoral" and says that school board members should be fined or jailed for failing to stop it.

Last month a Louisiana judge ruled against the same school board for letting an elementary school student recite the Lord's Prayer before a meeting. That ruling has been denounced by Louisiana's Democratic Governor, Kathleen Blanco (search) and is being appealed.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report