Did Changes to ABC's 9/11 Docudrama Satisfy Clinton Camp?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Change of Direction

The Senate Intelligence Committee's Ranking Democrat, who voted to authorize the war in Iraq, now says he would have voted against it if he'd known about the administration's "deliberately cynical manipulation" before the war. But West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller goes even further, saying the world would be better off today if the U.S. had never invaded Iraq -- even if it meant Saddam Hussein would still be in power.

Rockefeller tells CBS News that Saddam, "wasn't going to attack us. He would've been isolated there," adding, "we wouldn't have depleted our resources preventing us from prosecuting a War on Terror, which is what this is all about."

Rebuked for Rebuke

Democratic Senate Candidate Ned Lamont ripped his Connecticut opponent Joe Lieberman last week for scolding Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky scandal on the Senate floor in 1998, telling The New York Times that Lieberman should have handled the matter privately.

But Lamont saw things differently at the time, writing Lieberman: "I supported your statement because Clinton's behavior was outrageous: a Democrat had to stand up and state as much, and I hoped that your statement was the beginning of the end."

Lamont is standing by his latest comments, but a Lieberman spokesman says Lamont is "so desperate to lash out that he didn't seem to care that he was completely contradicting himself."

ABC Appeasement?

ABC changed several scenes in Monday night's miniseries "Path to 9/11" to appease former Clinton officials, who called it unfairly critical of their failure to kill or capture Usama bin Laden.

The network shortened several events officials say never happened, removed a reference to impeachment and cut two scenes linking Clinton's indecision on bin Laden to his preoccupation with the Lewinsky scandal. It also added three disclaimers making clear that the film "fictionalized" certain events.

But all that still wasn't enough to please former President Clinton. A spokesman called the scenes involving Clinton officials, "utterly and completely false," saying, "ABC regrettably decided not to tell the truth."

Christian Outrage

Offended Christians have sent nearly 2,000 letters to The University of Virginia's student newspaper, The Cavalier Daily, calling on the paper to apologize for a series of cartoons mocking their religion, including one portraying the Virgin Mary with an "immaculately transmitted" rash.

Editor-in-chief Michael Slaven says the paper will not apologize simply because someone is offended, saying newspaper policy allows cartoons to ridicule a group for it's own "opinions or actions."

But Slaven did issue an apology for a religious cartoon in February, after a widespread student protest. That cartoon poked fun at the Muslim prophet Mohammad.

—FOX News Channel's Aaron Bruns contributed to this report.