I would also like to note, that although I also believe CSS is the only way to layout a site. Each browser can see things slightly different.
Margins, padding, font sizes and spaces are rendered differently in each browser. Which can be a drag sometimes when trying to space certain elements in page.
A last point to why CSS is better. CSS allows it to be removed, so visitors can view your website without all the extra pictures and content. This is needed for people who are visually handicapped or have color perception problems.
Another thing that does not belong in modern design are: frames, inline css and inline code in general!
HTML is meant for visible text. Its not meant to layout out a page!
Just my two cents.