Safire thinks the presidential race is a boxing match

In his op-ed column titled "How Bush Won Round 2" in today's NY Times, William Safire says, "The president won because he went in there with a theme spoken by the heavyweight champion Joe Louis, just before his 1946 rematch victory over the lighter, faster Billy Conn: 'He can run, but he can't hide.' (The Brown Bomber caught up with Conn in the eighth round of that first TV spectacular.)"

Safire's perception of who won the debate is as bizarre as his reason why. If George Bush is the Brown Bomber and John Kerry is the lighter, faster Billy Conn (who "can't hide" from Bush's clumsily thrown punches), then Safire must be the referee--and those of us who thought we were watching a civilized exchange of opinions and ideas were actually watching a boxing match (which might explain why the rest of the world views America as pugilistic).

The adage that every man has his price must be true. Mr. Safire, we hope they're paying you well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/11/opinion/11safire.html?oref=login&th