Cramer Vs Not-Cramer

For those who don't know, The Daily Show host Jon Stewart has quite the feud going on right now with CNBC (in general) and Mad Money host Jim Cramer (in particular). It's been a lot of fun to watch, and it just keeps getting better!

It started last week when Stewart took the self-proclaimed "financial network" to task for mindlessly promoting the stock market in the days leading up to the meltdown, including the fact that they seem incapable of asking CEOs any of the hard questions. It was the trading floor rant of CNBC's Rick Santelli that initially set Stewart off (on March 4th). When Santelli referred to home owners as "losers" who should have known that the market was going to tank, Stewart responded by showcasing a series of CNBC clips in which representatives of the network assured the viewing audience that everything was fine, all of the beleaguered companies were actually healthier than people were letting on, and generally shilled for the CEOs with whom they were always getting cosy, while the stock market crashed around them. My favourite quote by Stewart during that segment: "Wow! If I'd only followed CNBC's advice, I'd have a million dollars today... provided I'd started with a hundred million dollars! How do they do it?"

Next, Stewart attacked Jim Cramer for his support of Bear Stearns, showing the Mad Money host promoting the company, and its stock, mere weeks before it went bankrupt. Cramer responded by going on various talk shows and claiming that he'd been taken out of context, and then Stewart provided even more examples, with even greater context.

All of this has been building up to tonight's episode of The Daily Show, on which Jim Cramer is now scheduled to appear. I can hardly wait!

For a good article by someone else who "gets" what CNBC does, check this out.