Cheat Sheet - President Obama: The Reluctant Salesman

Today: Assad: No 'Evidence' of Attack , NYPD on the Real 'Enemies Within': Going Undercover With Jihadis , Politico's Owner Buys Capital New York September 09, 2013 SYRIA 1. President Obama: The Reluctant Salesman For a president with celebrated rhetorical skills, President Obama's challenge on Tuesday is to convince us that the madness in Syria must end now. If he can move the nation, he can move Congress, writes The Daily Beast's Eleanor Clift. Plus, Christopher Dickey on the pro-democracy forces among the rebels, Michael Tomasky on Marco Rubio and more GOP hypocrites on Syria, and more coverage of the Syrian crisis. Read it at The Daily Beast DENIAL 2. Assad: No 'Evidence' of Attack Syrian President Bashar al-Assad insisted there was "no evidence" that his government used chemical weapons—and suggested there would be retaliation if attacked. In an interview with PBS's Charlie Rose, which will air Monday, Assad would not say for certain whether his government had chemical weapons, but said that if they had them, they would be "in centralized control." In fact, Assad said, it was up to the U.S. to prove that his government was behind the alleged August 21 nerve gas attack, which U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said killed more than 1,400 civilians. Meanwhile, Kerry said in London that "the evidence speaks for itself" of the alleged attack. Read it at BBC News REAL ENEMIES 3. Going Undercover With Jihadis The NYPD is fighting off harsh criticism of its intelligence division in the new book Enemies Within. The division's head talks to The Daily Beast's Michael Daly—and an officer tells his extraordinary story of living among jihadis. Read it at The Daily Beast WIN THE INTERNET? 4. Politico's Owner Buys Capital New York In case New Yorkers can't get enough minutiae of the mayoral race, the fun might never end. Politico's publisher Robert Allbritton has bought news website Capital New York, Allbritton and the site's editors confirmed on Sunday. Capital launched in 2010 by former New York Observer editors Josh Benson and Tom McGeveran, who will remain as co-editors, and Politico co-founder and executive editor Jim VandeHei will now serve as president. "I have very big ambitions for this publication: to do in New York what we did in Washington with Politico," said Allbritton in a staff memo on Sunday night. According to the memo, Politico plans to beef up Capital's staff to 30 from its current eight. Read it at Politico FRIEND REQUEST 5. Iran's Cabinet Joins Facebook Don't ignore those friend requests from key Iranian government officials: they might be real. Nearly every member of Iran's Cabinet opened up Facebook pages on Monday—despite the fact that the social network is banned in the country. Fifteen ministers—all but one—opened Facebook pages on Monday, just weeks after the election of centrist President Hassan Rouhani. Is this a sign of more openness by the famously cut-off Islamic Republic? Newspapers hinted on Monday that could be the case, and that this could be the beginning of new age in Iran with some Internet restrictions lifted. Read it at Associated Press BIG MOUTH Rodman: Kim Jong-un Has Baby Girl Calls dictator a "good dad." SIN CITY World's Largest Ferris Wheel Nearly Completed Las Vegas's High Roller will be 100 feet taller than London Eye. FOU-ROUX New Van Gogh Painting Found "Sunset at Montmajour" painted in 1888. THINK AGAIN Denby: Hollywood Didn't Advance Nazis New book is "inaccurate" and "unfair." WAITING ALL DAY New 'Sunday Night Football' Theme Debuts Carrie Underwood on the mic. GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors. GET Culture Beast Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast. The Great Syria Debate On Sunday's talk shows, the hot topic was the upcoming congressional vote on authorizing military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. From Bob Schieffer opining that the U.S. must intervene to Ted Cruz saying it would be a 'mistake,' here are the major points of contention. More Videos The Finest 'Breaking Bad' Yet by Andrew Romano Battling Abortion with Boredom by Michelle Goldberg What the Salinger Movie Misses by Andrew Romano

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