Cramer Hypocritically Calls Out Stewart For Being A Comedian

Central to CNBC's Jim Cramer's self-defense in recent days is the argument that his nemesis Jon Stewart is a "comedian" who runs a "variety show." Naturally, my first reaction is: UHM, HAVE YOU SEEN MAD MONEY? That show is like a Ralph Bakshi cartoon, with Cramer yelling unintelligibly while manically clawing at buttons that deploy dumb, wet fart noises and alarms and trumpet voluntaries and such.

But, hey, lest you write off my analysis as stupidity assessed by the eye of the beholder, why not take a look at the way Cramer assesses himself. Big thanks to Jeff Linkous, who, as a part of our Media Monitoring Project, reminds me that in the January 2009 Esquire, Cramer places himself inside the same comedian-variety show milieu that he now claims entirely discredits Stewart's opinions:

I can see Cramer fine, though. He's having a ball. He's on fire. The taping runs for more than three hours, and CNBC has hired a stand-up comic to warm up the crowd and give Jim a breather between segments, but Cramer comes out to warm up for the warm-up comic, and he's so amped by the fans that he never takes a break, so the comic spends three hours hanging in the wings holding a dead mic while Cramer basks in the people's love. His grin never fades.

And more specifically:

You see yourself as a crusader?

"Not at all. I think of myself as an entertainer who has sharp points of view."

So if I called you a clown act, that'd be fine by you?

"Well, I have some pride. I don't say that I'm an entertainer to denigrate myself. I think it's a higher calling to be an entertainer about business than to be a journalist-columnist about business because I'm making it come alive. You gotta put everything in, and if it comes into your head, you say it. I feel like a lot of what we do on the show would seemingly be, in a rigorous world, gratuitous. Except for the fact that it's irrepressibly gratuitous. I would love to be able to slaughter that pearl, but my mind, obviously it races. I've tried my best to slow it down, but it races."

Sounds like someone's got themselves a bad case of the pot-kettle-blacks!

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Comments

[Davonne Rushing]

It's suicide for Jim Cramer.

[Hawaii5-0]

Santelli had a great idea, online polls. I created one so people could show Cramer and MSNC what they think of them.

http://www.pollpub.com/is-jon-stewart-overhyping-the-war-with-jim-cramer-and-cnbc.aspx

[djmarch]

Not just his GS recommenda­tion..Don'­t forget the episode when Cramer recommended viewers to buy Wachovia at $12.00 a share...Sa­id it was a screaming buy......E­ven brought Wachovia's CEO on the show and praised him for doing such a good job.

[eden4barack08]

Nice find Jason, very nice.

[8isEnoughPeriod]

Cramer and Steward are both comedians. Whereas Steward can wear that as a batch of honor, what is Cramer's excuse? Actually, given that he has been giving people WRONG advice based on intuition, his performance is truly REPREHENSIBLE. He is similar to Bernie Maddow except that he did not have the good sense to profit from his false claims.

[PunDyt]

You mean:
A) Jon Stewart, with a T at end.
B) Badge of honor, not batch.
C) Bernie Madoff, not Maddow (which you might be confusing with Rachel Maddow).

Sorry, just had to clear the air.

[Manx]

I don't want my financial news delivered by clowns and jesters like Cramer. Just give it to me straight. Cramer undermines the credibility of CNBC, if they have any left after Stewart's put-down. He nailed it!

[ejhickey]

Why?

[MikeElPaso]

How's this for a variety show?: Jim Cramer, Glenn Beck and Ted Nugent. Sponsored by the makers of Pepto-Bismol and Alka-Seltzer.

[dengal]

and the N R A

[bigmacha]

Cramer accusing Stewart of being a comedian is not just hypocritical it is absurd - perhaps a comedy of adbsurdness! If you ever watched Cramer jump up and down on his stage, throw his chair, push his buttons and wear his ridiculous costumes then you would really have to wonder WHO is the comedian. Cramer is a FARCE! And a dangerous one since there are many people who watch his show with religious fervor. These true believers actually hope that they can glean some kernal of truth from Cramer's rantings that will give them an advantage in the market. Please! Get over it. The market is for professionals, sort of like a battlefield with opposing armies on both sides. Retail investors are the collateral damage and canon fodder. While once in a while you may make some money realize that the odds are with the house - no different then slot machines. After 40 years in the business I can tell you that you don't stand a chance. If you want to invest in stocks buy an index fund (Vanguard for example) and focus on the long term - forget Cramer and his ilk and you will be much better off - richer too,

[eden4barack08]

Wise advise, thanks.

[DomainDiva]

Hmmmm if someone had listened in August 2007 during Cramers Fed Rant "They know nothing!!" heard round the world....a lot of the problems we face now could be avoided.

Maybe sometime those who would like to learn something about how the market works should turn in to his show. Craziness aside, he does a good job of educating everyday people.

[skymuffin]

Did you see that part that Jon Stewart showed where Cramer is sitting down at a table and saying, "buy" Bear Stearns' stock? He's hunkered down and his eyes are shifting back and forth, and he can't make eye contact with the woman he's sitting with. I wonder how he'll be able to sit down with Jon Stewart and actually make a human connection.

[hollywoodjaxx]

Yeah I had the same thought...­a real weasel!

[Durango]

I am surprised that after the number Stewart did on Cramer and CNBC last week Cramer has the nerve to get out from under the covers of his bed.

Stewart exposed them all for what they really are. To paraphrase Colbert " Obsequious crack lickers.

There is more truth in 30 minutes of the Daily Show than in 24 hours of CNBC.

If we are engaged in the greatest economic catastrophe since the Great Depression . . . and they didn't see it coming.

What good are those fools?

BTW Just how much fun is it being a billionaire?

[Johnniedog]

The reason that people such as Cramer could not see the bottom falling out is because the people running the Financial institutions were cooking the books and hiding the truth. There is no-one on the planet that can see through the lies of Financial institutions when there are no Regulators to Audit the Books. The Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) was out to lunch with the Republican Party. This is why, even when you do their investigating for them and send them a report about a Ponsi scheme...M­adoff...th­ey ignore it....Free Market.

[gala1]

Sigh.

Where is Kurt Vonnegut when we really need him?
Or should I just ask " What hath Vonnegut wrought"?

Turtles seem SO much more probable with every passing day.

-gala1

[WilliamPilgrim]

I couldn't agree more.

Billy

[OttotheScourge]

Up against the wall.

[jqcitizen]

Real life comedians becoming US Senators is not all that common. Real life Senators being a joke is not so rare.

I just would like to hear what Will Rogers would have to say regarding the Minnesota Senate race between two N.York City boys trying to divide the Twin Cities.

Both of these guys are comical, but Coleman needs some help with reality.

Rogers loved to vilify politicians in a civil way and was a guest in Buckingham Palace and was still just an 'okie at heart.

True comedians can be good senators. All they need is common sense.

[JustSteve]

Because I just can't leave this alone...

While Norm Coleman more the carpetbagger, Al Franken was mostly raised in the Twin Cities burbs.

Really more a political satyrist than a straight up comic, Franken also is a Harvard grad.