Confidence game

This doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

Bush Confident Bin Laden Will Be Captured
President Bush, on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan, vowed Wednesday to stand by this emerging democracy and "not cut and run" in the face of rising violence. He also predicted Osama bin Laden would be captured despite a futile five-year hunt.

"I'm confident he will be brought to justice," Bush said, standing alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai outside the presidential palace.

And here's why ...

Bush Confident Warrantless Wiretaps Legal
President Bush Says He's Confident That Warrantless Surveillance Program Is Legal (my nominee for subhead of the year, by the way)
President Bush again defended his program of warrantless surveillance Thursday, saying "there's no doubt in my mind it is legal." He suggested that he might resist congressional efforts to change or expressly endorse it.

And ...

President Says DeLay Is Not Guilty of Money Laundering
President Bush said yesterday he is confident that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is innocent of money-laundering charges, as he offered strong support for several top Republicans who have been battered by investigations or by rumors of fading clout inside the White House.

And ...

Bush Confident Miers Will Be Confirmed
The White House said Monday that President Bush is confident Harriet Miers will be confirmed to the Supreme Court, even though a Democrat on the Senate panel that will hold hearings on her nomination said she doesn't have the votes.

And ...

Bush: Spending cuts, no tax hikes, for Katrina
‘I’m confident we can handle it,’ he says of anticipated $200 billion outlay
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Friday the federal government must slash unnecessary spending to pay for Gulf Coast reconstruction, but he ruled out raising taxes. “You bet it will cost money, but I’m confident we can handle it,” Bush said.

And ...

Bush Confident Iraq's Democracy Will Be Successful
President Bush expressed his confidence that the Iraqi people will succeed in their efforts to establish “a democratic and peaceful Iraq that represents all Iraqis.”

And ...

Bush Rejects Delay, Prepares Escalated Social Security Push
Despite polls showing support for the plan slipping, Bush is confident he is winning the first phase of the public debate over Social Security and has no plans to significantly alter his strategy for enacting the most dramatic changes ever to the venerable system, said senior White House officials who have talked to Bush.

And ...

Bush confident of finding banned Iraqi weapons
President Bush dismissed what he called "revisionist history" about the war in Iraq on Tuesday, and his spokesman said the president is still confident a Pentagon-led search will find Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction.

And ...

Bush Offers Kyoto Alternative
President Bush outlined a voluntary plan Thursday to slow the growth of global warming gases in place of the mandatory cuts demanded by the widely accepted Kyoto treaty he rejected last year as harmful to the U.S. economy.
"Today I'm confident that the environmental path I announce will benefit the entire world," Bush said.

With Bush's approval rating at 34 percent -- he's gaining on Dick Cheney (18 percent) -- it appears he inspires confidence only in himself. And, given the through-the-looking-glass history of this administration, it appears that when Bush says he's confident about something, we can be pretty confident that it either isn't so or won't happen.

Bush confident about economy for 2006
CHICAGO (AP) — President Bush shrugged off a report showing weaker-than-expected job growth on Friday and declared that "the American economy heads into 2006 with a full head of steam."

Uh oh. I'm confident that it's time to start stuffing the mattress.