
Cramer v. Stewart, the rematch
The CNBC host and the "Daily Show" star tangle, and once again, Cramer comes out the loser.
By Alex KoppelmanTopics: War Room, Jon Stewart, Politics News
It took a while, but someone from CNBC finally responded to Jon Stewart’s recent takedown of the network. And the person fighting back was none other than one of Stewart’s biggest targets, “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer. He didn’t escape the battle without taking a few hard blows, though.
Cramer, who appears to be a bit of a narcissist, wrote a column for MainStreet.com in which he addresses all of his recent critics and extends an offer to the Obama administration to help them with the economy. One interesting bit:
So, why after toiling in the cable wilderness for four years with Mad Money am I the target of the wrath of the Obama clan, and the darling, albeit surely momentary, of the Obama-critics? After all, my criticism of Obama’s handling of the economic crisis is a lot less pointed than my withering August 2007 “They Know Nothing” meltdown against the previous regime’s handling of the economic crisis. Then, I advocated a swift slashing of interest rates by the Federal Reserve and a concomitant policy for potential widespread banking failures that were sure to come because of the Republican administration’s pernicious laissez-faire attitude toward Wall Street.
The answer lies in the way the two administrations handled criticism.
The Bush administration, I believed, simply chose to ignore my warnings, perhaps because of a brutal combination of ideology, fecklessness and complacency.
Well, yeah, I’m sure that’s the only possible reason anyone would have to ignore Cramer’s financial advice. Surely it couldn’t be his record of faulty advice, since he argues that the infamous clip of him recommending Bear Stearns just before its collapse has been taken out of context:
Take Frank Rich and Jon Stewart. Both seize on the urban legend that I recommended Bear Stearns the week before it collapsed, even though I was saying that I thought it could be worthless as soon as the following week. I did tell an emailer that his deposit in his account at Bear Stearns was safe, but through a clever sound bite, Stewart, and subsequently Rich — neither of whom have bothered to listen to the context of the pulled quote — pass off the notion of account safety as an out-and-out buy recommendation.
In Cramer’s defense, he’s right about this. The clip was taken out of context, and he describes it accurately in that excerpt. But on Monday night’s “Daily Show” Stewart responded to Cramer’s response, and while he apologized for getting that bit wrong, he also had quite an effective comeback — the “Mad Money” host had recommended buying Bear Stearns five days before the clip in question.
Check out that “Daily Show” segment, which is pretty brutal, and pretty funny, below.
Vieira then ran the “Daily Show” clip and asked Cramer if he made a mistake, to which he responded, “Did I make a mistake? OK, well, first of all, any time you’ve recommended a stock and it goes down, you’ve made a mistake. Here’s a shocker: Almost every stock is down. Any stock you recommended is bad… This is a terrible market, which is why I told people to sell everything. But you think he’s going to run that tape? No, ’cause he’s got a comedy show.”
Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon. More Alex Koppelman.
You Might Also Like
More Related Stories
-
Poll: Dems like "Obamacare" more than "health care law"
-
House GOPer: Teach kids about traditional gender roles
-
FBI admits to using drones over U.S. soil
-
What everybody gets wrong about Orwell
-
Probe launched into TWA Flight 800 crash
-
Snowden's real crime: Humiliating the state
-
National study finds discrimination against gay couples in housing market
-
Sean Hannity: "I'm not a Republican"
-
House GOPer: Term "climate denier" offensive because it's like "Holocaust denier"
-
Delaware passes measure to protect transgender rights
-
Popularity boost for search engines outside NSA dragnets
-
Another "sovereign citizen" sentenced in tax fraud scheme
-
Does Obama know what "transparent" means?
-
Report: 70 percent of Americans "emotionally disconnected" at work
-
What if we demanded Ted Cruz's papers?
-
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski backs marriage equality
-
American middle-class prosperity is pure fantasy
-
Archbishop: "May a lesbian marry a gay man? My answer is 'yes'"
-
Meet America's most shameless defender of the 1 percent
-
Brazil lawmakers vote to lift ban on gay "conversion therapy"
-
Darrell Issa is terrible at his job
Featured Slide Shows
Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)
close X- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.
-
In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.
-
This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.
-
Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.
-
An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.
-
Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.
-
Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.
-
People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.
-
On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.
-
The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.
-
Recent Slide Shows
-
Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Photos: Turmoil and tear gas in Instanbul's Gezi Park - Slideshow
-
10 summer food festivals worth the pit stop
-
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
The week in 10 pics
-
10 summer food festivals worth the pit stop
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
9 amazing drive-in movie theaters still standing
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Netflix's April Fools' Day categories
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
Related Videos
More Related Stories
-
Poll: Dems like "Obamacare" more than "health care law"
-
House GOPer: Teach kids about traditional gender roles
-
FBI admits to using drones over U.S. soil
-
What everybody gets wrong about Orwell
-
Probe launched into TWA Flight 800 crash
-
Snowden's real crime: Humiliating the state
-
National study finds discrimination against gay couples in housing market
-
Sean Hannity: "I'm not a Republican"
-
House GOPer: Term "climate denier" offensive because it's like "Holocaust denier"
-
Delaware passes measure to protect transgender rights
-
Popularity boost for search engines outside NSA dragnets
-
Another "sovereign citizen" sentenced in tax fraud scheme
-
Does Obama know what "transparent" means?
-
Report: 70 percent of Americans "emotionally disconnected" at work
-
What if we demanded Ted Cruz's papers?
-
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski backs marriage equality
-
American middle-class prosperity is pure fantasy
-
Archbishop: "May a lesbian marry a gay man? My answer is 'yes'"
-
Meet America's most shameless defender of the 1 percent
-
Brazil lawmakers vote to lift ban on gay "conversion therapy"
-
Darrell Issa is terrible at his job
War Room is our political news and commentary blog, with coverage and commentary throughout the day.
Most Read
-
Bank of America whistle-blower's bombshell: "We were told to lie" David Dayen
-
Why Sarah Palin actually matters again Joan Walsh
-
GOP lawmaker: Extreme abortion ban justified because of masturbating fetuses Katie Mcdonough
-
GOP plan to appeal to millennials: "Make abortion funny" Alex Seitz-Wald
-
Why didn't anyone help? Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
Lynda Obst: Hollywood's completely broken Lynda Obst
-
To my daughter on Father's Day: Sorry I used to be a sexist Mo Elleithee
-
The best of Tumblr porn Tracy Clark-Flory
-
The most popular Tumblr porn Tracy Clark-Flory
-
Rahm Emanuel is losing control of his city Mark Guarino

Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com

33 points34 points35 points | 2 comments
From Around the Web
Presented by Scribol
- Chris Rodda: Congress Members Want Military Gays to be Free to Mock Christians
-
Karl Rove: Obama's No Dick Cheney -- He's Worse - Pythia Peay: Is America's 'Money Complex' Bankrupting Its Character? Interview With Psychoanalyst Tom Singer, M.D.
-
Nation Remains Divided On Gun Control -
Republicans Reject Signature Bush Law
-
From Food Stamps To Milk Subsidies, Farm Bill Stretching The Limits Of Ideological Purity -
Head Of Group That Had Aims To "Change" Gays Issues Apology - 26 Different Types Of Tea Partiers At The Anti-IRS Rally
-
Fox News Host Challenges Sarah Palin's Obamacare Claims -
Julian Assange: We're Helping To Broker Edwards Snowden's Asylum In Iceland


Comments
58 Comments