Read the Dikipedia article at
It’s funny as hell.
Recently I DVR-ed Cramer’s TV show - Mad Money - but couldn’t watch it more than
5 minutes.
You know, I used to really like Jim Cramer, before his ego went all Mad Money on his no-pick-'um bitch ass.
I first heard about him by reading the GQ article back in the late 90’s. Hard-working, dedicated, talented kid finds his dream early in life and goes on to make good with a couple of detours along the way. I remember being jealous of his being able to get by on three hours sleep every night (Now I just shake my head and mutter “Lay off the crack, Jim.”)
Even around 2000-2002, I still enjoyed reading his stuff, including a bunch of interviews online and his autobiography Confessions of a Wall Street Addict. He came off a lot more sensible back then, driven but honest with himself. He also made sure to clarify in interviews that his spiel was for the bigger players. Every time an interviewer or a caller asked for advice, he told them in no uncertain terms to invest in a mutual fund and not to trying outsmarting the market on their own. I liked that Jim Cramer.
Then he got into this Mad Money TV bullshit, and suddenly, all the disclaimers and mutual fund advice went out the window. He lost his grip and freaked out, and suddenly he was an easy target–deservedly so, as far as I’m concerned. He should have just stuck to trimming the hedges.
I know it’s cliche, but there’s just something about show business that weirds people out. It’s not just Cramer. Look at Ben Stein and Chuck Norris. These guys used to be the shit! Chuck Norris was my hero when I was 15. He could simply do no wrong. 20-odd years later, he’s lost his nut and ranting about wanting to be president of Texas when it secedes and writing books with titles like “Black Belt Patriotism (Or Let’s Kick Those Annoying College Kids Down the Street in the Nads and Judo Chop Their Phish CD’s).”
Ben Stein was my hero after the army. Finally, a conservative with a sense of humor who could talk about politics without sounding like he got lost on his way back to the trailer park. I loved his game show, and really, the guy was just fun. Ten years later, the show and the fun are gone, and he pretty much sticks to writing whacked-out treatises in American Spectator that read like a cross between William F. Buckley’s editorials and my crazy Uncle Charlie’s rants about how the Puerto Ricans were going to destroy America. Not the blacks, not the Jews, not even the Mexicans. Apparently, the Puerto Ricans were going to inherit the earth right along with the meek. (Meh, at least the food would be good.) Stein went and lost his shit, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to get it back anytime soon.
Showbiz freaks people out.
Pretty thoughtful commentary, Linty.
Thanks. I enjoyed reading your post.
You may want to read this long thread about Jim Cramer’s appearance on The Daily Show.
Agreed.
And no, Stewart was not too tough.
So it’s the Puerto Ricans that are the Menace, not the Jews?
Who knew!?
I only know one Puerto Rican. She is in her 60’s and she can kick your ass with just a glare. So, I believe this new Menace entirely.
When will the Dwarf Albino Fiji Islander’s named Gary be the menace? Are they moving up on the list at all or what?
I think Cramer could have defended his himself if he thought about it. His show is “Mad Money”. Mad money is money you have after you have paid your bills, paid all expenses, and maxed out retirement accounts. Basically, mad money is money you can afford to lose. He caters to those people. The people that like to gamble with money they have left over after everything else. The people that can buy stock for 50k, lose half, and not really have it affect their lifestyle. If your average Joe took Cramer’s advice and invested money he couldn’t afford to lose into individual stocks, well I have little sympathy in that regard. So when he is throwing little plastic bulls under his legs and screaming “buy buy buy”… it’s for the people that can afford to roll the dice.
So when clips are aired showing Cramer recommending stocks at their highs, and now the stocks are essentially penny and pink stocks, those were suggestions for the well off, not your everyday citizen.
Although Jon said through out the show he wasn’t after Cramer, but what Cramer represents and the CNBC network in general. Cramer represents people who can afford to lose money and gamble, that entire network does. If Cramer had just said that…
Don’t get me wrong, it was a great, albeit painful interview. But Cramer should have said, ‘look, my show is a roulette wheel for the well off’… that may not have excused him, but may have helped him to be more understood.
Read the whole thread. It was quite good.
Thanks for the link.