Tim is a schmuck. That’s what we took away from yesterday’s news. As near as we can make out, Tim Geithner’s trip to Beijing was, at best, a draw. He told his soothing lies. China listened. The markets reacted favorably. His goal was to bluff and bamboozle the world’s investors – notably China – into believing that the US had its finances under control. Once we’re out of this mess, he told China’s top man, we’re going straight. No more binges of EZ credit and wild government spending. We just need a little more of that old time medicine…just one more time…to get us through this dark night of economic downturn. But once the sun comes up and the economy is back on the road to recovery, trust me on this, America is going to balance its budget, foreswear Quantitative Easing forever, and join AA. No kidding. Cross your heart and hope to die.