memeorandum: Midterm Calculus: Democrats Shouldn't Dream in Mississippi, Where a Runoff Looms (Nate Cohn/New York Times)

8:15 AM ET, June 5, 2014

Top Items:

White House braced for Bowe Bergdahl backlash — President Barack Obama's Rose Garden appearance Saturday afternoon with Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's parents was an attempt to humanize the prisoner swap to deflect potential criticism of letting five Taliban leaders out of Guantanamo Bay, White House aides say.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, Fox News, National Review, NPR, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Justin Sink / The Hill:

WH surprised by Bergdahl — The White House has been caught off guard by the negative reaction to the deal that freed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the last American prisoner of war in Afghanistan. — It has been particularly surprised by criticism of Bergdahl, who is accused of walking away …

Discussion: Politico

Emily Bazelon / Slate:

Gitmo Fail — Obama promised to close Guantánamo. Why is he releasing dangerous detainees and ignoring the rest? — I believed Barack Obama when he promised to close Guantánamo. It sounds so naïve. But in the days after his first inauguration …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Guardian and Prairie Weather

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

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Graham warns of Republican impeachment push over Gitmo

Discussion: CNN, PoliticusUSA, Washington Monthly and Politico

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:

The Republican Case Against Republican Economics — After the 2012 presidential election, key Republicans began to criticize their party's opposition to immigration reform and gay rights. But now party reformers are questioning something much more central: free-market orthodoxy.

Discussion: National Review and AEIdeas

Susan Davis / Associated Press: 2014 Senate landscape tilts in GOP's favor

Bloomberg:
Tea Party Regains Steam With Cochran U.S. Senate Runoff

Discussion: Bloomberg View

Alexander Burns / Politico:
Thad Cochran backers face agonizing choice

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

Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Midterm Calculus: Democrats Shouldn't Dream in Mississippi, Where a Runoff Looms

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Democratic Strategist, The New Republic, Bloomberg View, The Atlantic Online, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Prairie Weather, The Dish and Outside the Beltway

Kevin Sieff / Washington Post:

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: New York Times, Just Security, Betsy's Page, Washington Times, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! News, Power Line, The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, National Review, The Daily Beast and CNN

Fox News:
Administration bypassed intel community to pursue Bergdahl trade, shelved ransom plan

Discussion: BarbWire.com, Power Line, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, ThinkProgress, Hot Air, Lawfare, The Federalist and The Dish

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: Bloomberg View, Mediaite, Politico, CNN and Gawker

Danika Fears / New York Post:
Obama snapped pumping iron at hotel gym

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

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

Discussion: protein wisdom and Talking Points Memo

Yahoo! News:

McChrystal on Bergdahl: 'We don't leave Americans behind. That's unequivocal' — Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Wednesday urged Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's critics not to “judge” him until all the facts are in and sharply defended the extensive and risky search efforts that claimed the lives of some of his fellow soldiers.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

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

Discussion: Politico, RedState, Mediaite, Business Insider, CNN and Hullabaloo

John Feehery / Wall Street Journal:

Obama the Velcro President — They said that Ronald Reagan was the Teflon President. Nothing, not even Iran-Contra, could stick to him. — Barack Obama is the Velcro President. Everything is sticking to him. — He probably thought he could get some major political mileage …

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

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Justices Reject Call to Halt Gay Marriages in Oregon — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request to halt same-sex marriages in Oregon. The court's one-line order gave no reasons for declining to issue a stay. — Many gay and lesbian couples have gotten married …

Discussion: SCOTUSblog

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
Supreme Court Denies Attempt To Stop Oregon Same-Sex Marriages

Discussion: Joe. My. God. and The New Civil Rights Movement

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: CBS News, Liberal Values, Capitol Report, Hullabaloo, Shakesville, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, Mashable, Talking Points Memo, OnPolitics, People.com and FishbowlDC

Richard Goldstein / New York Times:

Don Zimmer, Who Spent 60 Eventful Years in Baseball, Dies at 83 — Don Zimmer, the stubby, Popeye-muscled baseball lifer with the unforgettable jowls whose passion for the game endured through more than 60 years as a player, manager, coach and adviser, died on Wednesday in Dunedin, Fla. He was 83.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Joe Palazzolo / Wall Street Journal:

Cyberbullying Law Challenged in Court — New York Jurists to Decide if Criminal Statute Violates Freedom of Speech; Other States and Localities Await Precedent — New York's high court on Thursday will consider one of the first legal challenges to state and local laws that make it a crime …

Matt Stoller / VICE:

The VICE Reader: The Con-Artist Wing of the Democratic Party — Former US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (left) yucking it up at a meeting of global elites in 2009. Photo via Flickr user IMF — The most consequential event of this young century has been the financial crisis.

Discussion: Bloomberg View and susiemadrak.com

Alana Goodman / Washington Free Beacon:

Hillary to New York Times: Back Off — Some of Hillary Clinton's closest aides blasted the New York Times for what they said was unfair coverage of the former first lady during a recent secret meeting with the paper's Washington bureau, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

Discussion: NewsBusters and ABC News

Ana Campoy / Wall Street Journal:

School District's Use of Worker Visa Program Draws Scrutiny — Texas District Allegedly Exploited H-1B Program in Recruiting Teachers From Overseas. — GARLAND, Texas—As this city outside Dallas turned heavily Hispanic over the past decade, its school district hired foreign teachers …

Discussion: Fox News