Is Geithner right that the recession is receding?

Remember Tim Geithner? He's that deer-in-the-headlights fellow in charge of the Treasury Department, who now claims that the recession is receding. His audience for this piece of content-free cheer-leading are our good friends in Saudi Arabia who grant us their oil and terrorists in exchange for our dollars. And the Saudis need reassuring because they are investing their oil profits in dollar-denominated assets that keep tumbling in value.

And why shouldn't they tumble? The U.S. has thrown in $12.8 trillion to rescue the global banking system from its risk-seeking greed-heads. And our $787 billion stimulus plan has officially saved or created 21,000 jobs -- a spit glob in the ocean of the 6.5 million jobs lost since the recession began. All that added debt just makes the dollar look more wobbly.