President Bush is keeping up his game face, even though he must know it’s never going to happen: Bush says he’s confident about creation of Palestinian state.

But the real howler of the day is the ludicrous second sentence of this Associated Press report:

WASHINGTON - President Bush sought Thursday to inject some confidence into the flagging Mideast peace process, pledging that the contours of a Palestinian state can still be reached before he leaves office. But old obstacles, mainly disputed West Bank settlements, continue to threaten that prospect.

Yes, the real problem is those Israeli settlements.

Not the ongoing rocket attacks, not the suicide bombers, not the indoctrination of children, not the idolization of murderers, not the constant barrage of antisemitic propaganda, not the funding from Saudi Arabia for terrorism, not the jihad clerics preaching genocidal hatred.

It’s those settlements.