?ÛÏTHERE WILL BE NO recession in the United States of America,?Û? said President Nixon in his State of the Union address. An administration economist with whom I had been watching the speech, grimaced and covered his head: he had just been discoursing about the recession the nation faced.</br></br>?ÛÏI have a new perfect advance indicator of recession,?Û? observed former Economic Council Chairman Arthur M.</br></br>President ^ Nixon checks economic report after signing it Friday. With him is Herbert Stein, Council of Economic Advisers chairman.</br></br>Okun, ?ÛÏand that?Ûªs when Herb Stein starts splitting hairs about the definition. The last time he did this was in 1970.?Û?</br></br>The notion that the President could declare a recession out of bounds with the flick of his speec'hwriter?Ûªs wrist only added to the sense of unreality evoked by the whole address.