"What the caterpillar calls the end of life, wise men call a butterfly."

Just in case you missed the Washington Post's Dan Froomkin today:

"The news has been kind to the White House for a few weeks, with media
attention largely focused on the Republican convention and the attacks on John
Kerry's war record.

But today is looking pretty tough.

Headlines blare the news that the death toll in Iraq has crossed the
1,000 milestone.

There are also big headlines about Bush's record $422 billion budget
deficit and the multi-trillion-dollar deficit projections for the future.

Then there are all the stories about Vice President Cheney's
jaw-dropping statement yesterday that a Kerry victory would result in more
terrorist attacks. Even his own staff is qualifying it.

Bush's spotty National Guard record during the Vietnam War is turning
into a full-fledged media conflagration, with more stories out today and
"60 Minutes" weighing in tonight.

Plus, Sen.Bob Graham (D-Fla.) is all over the media charging Bush with
covering up evidence that might have linked Saudi Arabia to the Sept. 11
hijackers.

And while the mainstream press is not putting stock in unauthorized
biographer Kitty Kelley's hazily sourced allegations of past drug use by Bush,
everybody -- at least everybody on the Internet -- seems to be talking about it.

It certainly isn't like the carefully scripted weeks of yore."