Bill Safire’s thinking continues to baffle those of us who believe we think logically. On this Sunday’s Meet The Press, he had this to say:

MR. WILLIAM SAFIRE: This has been a terrible couple of months for the Republicans. The prison scandal on top of all the casualties and the fact that the president's ratings have gone down is logical. One would expect that. The fact that Kerry hasn't gone up is very interesting…. I just think the pendulum is likely to swing. I don't think John Kerry has really made a move in the moment that he should be making a move.

The one thing Safire neglects to mention is that the Bush campaign has already spent nearly $130 million to pummel Kerry. That kind of moolah can buy plenty of misleading and distorted attack ads! In that sense, Kerry’s polling numbers remaining stable is quite an achievement, I would say. Sure, it would be better if the numbers rose during this onslaught, but one could make the case that Kerry is shrewdly playing possum, taking the punches in the ring and tiring out the other fighter so that he can ultimately score a KO without much effort.

Josh Marshall has it right concerning Safire:

Conservatives hunting for media-bias in the Times often pick on its more liberal columnists. In fact, if there's bias to be found, it's in Safire. Only lack of interest and respect for conservative opinion can fully explain Safire's continued presence on the page.