Let's parse Bush's presser again:

1. "[BUSH] We must not fall prey to the sophisticated propaganda by the enemy, who is trying to undermine our confidence and make us believe that our presence in Iraq is the cause of all its problems."

2. "[BUSH] I'm confident because I believ the power of liberty will defeat the ideology of hate every time."

3. "[BUSH] I believe that the radicals represent the few in the Middle East."

4. "[BUSH] I believe the majority of people want to live in a peaceful world. "

5. "[BUSH] That's what I believe."

Anyone remember the Steve Martin routine on this?

Belief? Or Delusion?

6. "[BUSH] we're working with the Iraqi government to have certain benchmarks to meet as a way to determine whether or not they're making the hard decisions necessary to achieve peace. I believe that's what you're referring to."

7. "[BUSH] I do believe Prime Minister Maliki is the right man to achieve the goal in Iraq. "

8. "[BUSH] I believe that -- first of all, I've been briefed on this subject recently by the Secretary of State"

9. "[BUSH] Peter, you're asking me why I believe Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a good job"

10. "[BUSH] But I believe that the military strategy we have is going to work. "

11. "[BUSH] That's what I believe, Peter."

12. "[BUSH] But the important thing is whether or not we have the right strategy and the tactics necessary to achieve that goal. And I believe we do."

13. "[BUSH] I believe our generals are doing the job I asked them to do. "

14. "[BUSH] And I believe we will succeed. "

15, 16 "[BUSH] There's a lot of work to be done, don't get me wrong, but it is -- there are people living relatively normal lives who I believe -- strongly believe that they want to continue that normalcy"

17. "[BUSH] And I firmly believe it is more likely to achieve those three objectives with a Republican-controlled Congress and a Republican-controlled Senate."

18. "[BUSH] And I believe I'll be working with a Republican-controlled Congress and a Republican-controlled Senate."

19. "[BUSH] Mike, I believe Iraq will be able to defend, govern and sustain itself"

20, 21 "[BUSH] And the parents of our troops must understand, that if I didn't believe we could succeed, and didn't believe it was necessary for the security of this country to succeed, I wouldn't have your loved ones there. "

I guess, at this point, I'd rather hear a little less about belief and a little more about reality.

Of course, given Bush's professed religious convictions, it would be nice if somebody had asked him whether he "believes," as The Base does, that the earth is only 6,000 years old, or whether he "believes," as The Base does, that The Rapture is coming, or even whether he's doing his best to bring The Rapture closer with his policies....

NOTE Suggested by the penultimate paragraph of reporter Thomas Ricks in WaPo