I assume most readers of this blog have been following the controversy surrounding ABC's swift-boating of the Clinton administration. (ThinkProgress has been tracking the story round the clock if you want the latest.) While the networks have been irresponsible on countless occasions, I'd say "The Path to 9/11" represents a dramatic step forward into the abyss. I honestly can't imagine ABC doing something like this, say, ten or fifteen years ago. To go forward with a re-enactment filled with slanderous falsehoods about a former president and his staff -- and to scoff at the objections of said officials, prominent historians, members of the 9/11 Commission, and the public at large -- well, I think a major network would have viewed this as an embarrassment in the past. But clearly ABC is more interested in staying in good graces with the Bush administration than it is with public perception, or an ethical duty to tell the truth. I find this development utterly chilling.

This just in from ThinkProgress -- first showings of the film in New Zealand reveal minimal editing to the wholly invented scene showing Sandy Berger slamming the phone on George Tenet. [Update: apparently this scene was edited out in the US.]