Increasingly, he takes refuge in his wildly enchanting dreams, where he confidently woos the woman he lacks the confidence to approach in real life.
Now he confidently rearranges the pieces.
"I'm going to make it to seventy," he confidently predicted.
By 2014, he confidently proclaimed, "the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security".
White, lacking details, has few stories to tell, but he confidently diagnoses Marinoff's plight.
The Republicans are "betting on amnesia," he confidently told the claque at a recent fund-raiser.
Firmly anchored in his time, he confidently projects from his own experiences.
"We should spot gravitational waves by 2001," he confidently told me at the time.
That's what I like most about Gore: he confidently asserts his assumption of superpower responsibility.
He confidently predicts that an override of the veto is "a done deal".
He confidently, almost mockingly, assailed Mr. Bush for his campaign proposals and his record as governor.
