I think I understand what you want (Design/Themes)
I also think you are making this more difficult for yourself than needed. If you just want to move the entry text over a bit, all you need to do is put a div tag around the if statement you posted and set it's left edge where you want it...
<div style="margin-left:10px;"> {if $posting} {$posting} {else} <p>{#no_text#}</p> {/if} </div>
That's the basic idea, apply the css however you like ;)