Research analysts show that ad spending has been down for two consecutive quarters, but CBS CEO Leslie Moonves and his rivals don’t seem to care.

CNNMoney.com reports out of the Merrill Lynch media and entertainment conference, quoting Moonves as saying: “We are not seeing any trends that say people are pulling back on advertising.”

Other media execs are also upbeat. Which makes us wonder: What gives? Aren’t all the forecasts depressingly dark?

CNN provides a glimmer of an answer: If the economy goes in the toilet, the presidential contenders will have that much more to fight about. A bigger fight means more ad revenue for media companies.

“It’s impossible to underestimate how important that is to us. Political advertising will be stronger in the fourth quarter than anticipated earlier in the year,” Moonves said.

And if media companies make more money, then there will be more jobs for media grunts, yes? So, out-of-work journos, let’s hope for a recession! (Hmm. Somehow that still doesn’t make sense to us.)