Hope is not lost. Ben Bernake, says that the recession could end this year, if the government bailouts and stimulus work.

America’s recession “probably” will end this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Sunday in a rare television interview.

In carefully hedged remarks in a taped interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Bernanke seemed to express a bit more optimism that this could be done.

Still, Bernanke stressed — as he did to Congress last month — that the prospects for the recession ending this year and a recovery taking root next year hinge on a difficult task: getting banks to lend more freely again and getting the financial markets to work more normally.

“We’ve seen some progress in the financial markets, absolutely,” Bernanke said. “But until we get that stabilized and working normally, we’re not going to see recovery.

So far, everything the experts, including those from the Federal Reserve and Treasury, have said, has been wrong. Proceed with caution.

UPDATE: 12-07-09

Original out-link expired at Yahoo Business News. For detailed story, visit CBS News: Ben Bernanke’s Greatest Challenge.