memeorandum: McCrystal: Don't ‘Judge’ Bergdahl And The Prisoner Swap Yet (VIDEO) (Caitlin MacNeal/Talking Points Memo)

8:35 PM ET, June 4, 2014

Top Items:

Exclusive: Afghan villagers recall when Bergdahl stumbled into their midst — Among the most tantalizing mysteries surrounding Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's departure from his U.S. military base in 2009 is this: Was he trying to find the Taliban? Or did he simply wander away and get captured?

Discussion: Fox News, Mediaite, The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Daily Caller and National Review

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

McCrystal: Don't ‘Judge’ Bergdahl And The Prisoner Swap Yet (VIDEO) — Retired Gen. Stanley McCrystal on Wednesday said it was too soon to “judge” Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and the Obama administration's decision to negotiate for his release from the Taliban. — “I think we're going to have to wait …

Discussion: Mediaite, Business Insider, The Federalist, New York Times and National Review

Alex Berenson / New York Times:

A Prisoner of War, but Not a Hero — LEAVE no soldier behind. — The four words are honored at every rank in the American military. Soldiers willingly, sometimes foolishly, risk their own lives to keep their comrades out of enemy hands. — So the White House expected that the release …

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Independent Journal Review, Guardian and RedState

Yahoo! News:
McChrystal on Bergdahl: 'We don't leave Americans behind. That's unequivocal'

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Gawker, Taylor Marsh and Weekly Standard

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

Discussion: The Daily Banter, The Moderate Voice, Crooks and Liars, National Review, Here & Now, Liberaland, Gawker and No More Mister Nice Blog

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: Politico, Mediaite, Gawker and CNN

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, TPNN, Gawker, The Daily Caller, Business Insider and Fox News

Leslie Larson / NY Daily News:
Footage of Obama's Warsaw workout prompts security questions

Discussion: protein wisdom and Talking Points Memo

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: Hullabaloo, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, The Awl, Mashable and Shakesville

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

Thomson Reuters Foundation / Trust.org:

Idaho hometown of newly freed soldier cancels planned celebration — The hometown of U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl has canceled a rally planned for later this month celebrating his release from five years of Taliban captivity, a municipal official told Reuters on Wednesday, amid allegations that he was a deserter.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Weekly Standard

NBC News:
Officials in Bergdahl's Hometown: Stop the Hate

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Hot Air, Hullabaloo and Mediaite

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

Discussion: OnPolitics, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, BuzzFeed, BREITBART.COM, ThinkProgress and The Huffington Post

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

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:
The Republican Case Against Republican Economics

Discussion: National Review and AEIdeas

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

Discussion: Bloomberg View, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Fox News, New York Times and The Dish

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: Washington Monthly, CNN and PoliticusUSA

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

Discussion: Politico

ThinkProgress:

Ohio May Take Away Low-Income Women's Access To The Most Effective Form Of Birth Control — The Ohio legislature is currently considering a measure that would institute a sweeping ban on insurance coverage for abortion in state residents' public and private health plans.

Discussion: Liberal Values and Daily Kos

Kristen Mitchell / The Columbus Dispatch:
Ohio bill would restrict abortion coverage

Discussion: Hit & Run and The Raw Story

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, Business Insider, KCLO-TV, OnPolitics, Liberaland and Politico

James Covert / New York Post:

City Council members rip Walmart's charity of ‘dangerous dollars’ — More than half the members of the City Council have fired off a letter to Walmart demanding that it stop making millions in charitable contributions to local groups here. — Twenty-six of the 51 members of the Council charged …

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air and Fox News Insider

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, Hot Air, Nextgov, The Daily Caller and The Verge

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

Maureen Dowd went to Colorado, ate some marijuana candy, and had an 8-hour freakout. — I'm surprised she's willing to write openly about violating federal criminal law. On-the-books felony laws would be enough to silence me, but I would also think that a person who at least poses as smart …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Joe. My. God. and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Don't Harsh Our Mellow, Dude

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: Politico, CNN, Business Insider and Mediaite

Ralph Peters / National Review:

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, Washington Examiner, Booman Tribune, VodkaPundit and Betsy's Page

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 …