memeorandum: Thad Cochran backers face agonizing choice (Alexander Burns/Politico)

5:15 PM ET, June 4, 2014

Top Items:

Why Team Obama Was Blindsided by the Bergdahl Backlash — Congratulations, Mr. President! And identical congrats to your sorcerer's apprentice, National Security Adviser Susan Rice. By trying to sell him as an American hero, you've turned a deserter already despised by soldiers …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Booman Tribune and VodkaPundit

New York Times:
Can Bowe Bergdahl Be Tied to 6 Lost Lives? Facts Are Murky

Discussion: Guardian, Mediaite, The Lead with Jake Tapper, National Review, The Federalist, CNN, The Daily Caller, Prairie Weather, Washington Post, susiemadrak.com, BREITBART.COM, The Week, Althouse, Infowars, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, NewsHounds blog and Outside the Beltway

Michelle Malkin / Townhall.com:
Exclusive: The Story You Haven't Yet Heard About Bowe Bergdahl's Desertion

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Patterico's Pontifications

Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Was Exchanged for Detainees at Guantánamo

Discussion: Gawker, Weekly Standard and Washington Post

Wall Street Journal:
Secret Videos Prompted Bowe Bergdahl Taliban Prisoner Swap

Discussion: Mediaite, CNN, Christian Science Monitor, The PJ Tatler, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Lawfare, The Dish, MiamiHerald.com, NBC News, New York Times, The New Republic, New York Magazine and The Hill

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
The Bowe Bergdahl Story Is Right-Wing Crack

Discussion: msnbc.com, Liberaland, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, Crooks and Liars, National Review, Here & Now and Gawker

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
What if Team Obama had just told the truth about Bowe Bergdahl?

Discussion: National Review, Ed Driscoll, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, The PJ Tatler and Betsy's Page

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:
Hillary Clinton Was Skeptical of Taliban-Bergdahl Swap

Discussion: Politico, RedState, The Hill, Weekly Standard, Washington Post, US Department of State, The Daily Caller, Just Security, The Huffington Post, Slate, Mediaite, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, National Review, NBC News, PoliticusUSA, TIME and Associated Press

Brian Ries / Mashable:
Republicans Delete Digital Praise of Bowe Bergdahl Release

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, BREITBART.COM and BuzzFeed

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Graham warns of Republican impeachment push over Gitmo — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned Wednesday that Republican lawmakers would call for President Obama's impeachment if he released more prisoners from Guantanamo Bay without congressional approval. — Republicans worry Obama may try …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and CNN

NY Daily News:
Surrender without honor

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Mediaite, Associated Press, Power Line and madmagazine.com

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Prisoner swap blows up on White House

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, Josh Blackman's Blog and Washington Post

Donna Cassata / Associated Press:
Dem Leader Assails GOP Over Soldier Swap

Discussion: Politico

Robert Tracinski / The Federalist:
Why Are We Releasing Terrorists Who Kill Girls Because They Go To School?

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Fox News, RedState, The Daily Caller, Townhall.com, Mediaite and BuzzFeed

Greta Van Susteren / Gretawire:

THIS IS SO DANGEROUS!!! What is WRONG WITH THE SECRET SERVICE???!!??? If Polish tabloids can get these pics (and video) with a camera lens, is there anyone who doesn't think the President is vulnerable to someone armed? — As you know, President Obama is traveling in Europe.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, Politico, NY Daily News, Gawker and Mediaite

Danika Fears / New York Post:

Obama snapped pumping iron at hotel gym — Even the president pumps iron at the hotel gym. — A fellow gym user snapped a few covert shots and video of President Obama lifting weights at a 5-star hotel in Warsaw, Poland — evidently without being seen by the president's security team — then posted them on his Facebook page.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Gawker, Business Insider, Fox News, TPNN and The Daily Caller

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Don't Harsh Our Mellow, Dude — The caramel-chocolate flavored candy bar looked so innocent, like the Sky Bars I used to love as a child. — Sitting in my hotel room in Denver, I nibbled off the end and then, when nothing happened, nibbled some more. I figured if I was reporting …

Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Maureen Dowd went to Colorado, ate some marijuana candy, and had an 8-hour freakout.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Joe. My. God. and Gawker

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Thad Cochran backers face agonizing choice — Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran's national backers awakened to a wrenching decision Wednesday: whether to continue pouring energy and cash into an effort to rescue a six-term incumbent who failed to win a majority of the vote in this week's primary.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, Outside the Beltway and Yahoo! News

Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:
Mississippi Republicans Can't Make Up Their Mind

Discussion: New York Magazine, Bloomberg View, New York Times, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Washington Post and The Dish

CNN:
Top takeaways from Tuesday's primaries

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Adam Weymouth / The Atlantic Online:
Thad Cochran, the Last of the Naive Republicans

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Guardian, Daily Kos, Real Clear Politics, Wall Street Journal, Taegan Goddard's …, Yahoo! News, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Slate and American Spectator

Adam Auriemma / Wall Street Journal:

Solved: People Magazine's Hillary Clinton Cover Mystery — Attention Twitter: We can confirm that's not a walker. — Hillary Clinton's appearance on the cover of the People magazine raised some eyebrows Wednesday—and not for her comments on a potential run in 2016 or about Monica Lewinsky.

Discussion: The Awl, Hullabaloo, Mashable and Mediaite

Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
Hillary Clinton Opens Up About Becoming a Grandmother - and Possible Presidential Run

Discussion: New York Times, Talking Points Memo, OnPolitics, Mediaite and FishbowlDC

Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar / Associated Press:

NOW APPLICATION ‘INCONSISTENCIES’ VEX HEALTH LAW — FILE - This May 14, 2014 file photo shows Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President Barack Obama's nominee to become secretary of Health and Human Services testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington. More than 2 million people who got health insurance …

Discussion: Politico, Nextgov, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and The Verge

John Hult / Argus Leader:

Annette Bosworth arrested on perjury and election fraud charges — Former U.S. Senate candidate Annette Bosworth has turned herself into the Minnehaha County Jail following the issuance of a warrant for her arrest. — Attorney General Marty Jackley issued the warrant for Bosworth this morning.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, Liberaland, Politico, KCLO-TV, Business Insider and OnPolitics

Kim Brooks / Salon:

The day I left my son in the car — I had no idea it would consume the next years of my life — The day it happened was no different from most; I was worried, and I was running late. I was worried because in a few hours' time I was going to be enduring a two-and-a-half hour flight with my kids, ages 1 and 4.

Discussion: Unfogged and susiemadrak.com

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Supreme Court Denies Attempt To Stop Oregon Same-Sex Marriages — The National Organization for Marriage tried to get the Supreme Court to stop same-sex couples from marrying, but the court denied the request without comment on Tuesday. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court denied …

Discussion: Joe. My. God.

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Oliver North Of All People Blasts Obama For Financing Terrorist Orgs In Bergdahl Swap — Naturally, Lt. Col. Oliver North has plenty to say about the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. — North, the former Reagan aide-turned-conservative commentator best-known for his central role …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Daily Banter, Washington Monthly, Hinterland Gazette, BREITBART.COM, Daily Kos, Right Wing Watch and The Gateway Pundit

Adam J. White / Weekly Standard:

Hot and Bothered: When Liberals Want Conservatives to Talk About Climate Change Instead of the Middle Class — “Everything reminds Milton of the money supply,” Robert Solow once said of his fellow Nobel-winning economist Milton Friedman at a symposium. “Well, everything reminds me of sex, but I keep it out of the paper.”

eng.kremlin.ru:

Vladimir Putin's interview with Radio Europe 1 and TF1 TV channel — In the run-up to his visit to France, Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Radio Europe 1 news programme author and frontman Jean-Pierre Elkabbach and anchor of the evening news on TF1 TV channel Gilles Bouleau.

Discussion: CNN, Business Insider and Mediaite