I used to laugh at the Oprah Winfrey show. I found it pathetic the way she could take every single guest and every single subject and make it all about herself. Then I watched Jim Cramer?s Mad Money on CNBC. I feel I owe Oprah an apology. I just thoughtshe had the market on self- serving ?me-ism.? When it comes to egocentric programming, Oprah can?t
hold a candle to Cramer. He wins, hands down.
Friday, February 15th, Cramer had New York Governor Eliot Spitzer on his show. According to Jimbo, he and the governor are old pals from way back. Based on the conversation between them, the visit had three purposes
- To continue Cramer?s year-long bashing of Ambac and MBIA, companies that reinsure municipality bonds.
- To stroke Cramer?s ego. Surely, it was tongue-in-cheek, but Spitzer touted Cramer as the right choice for the next Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Cramer has never been shy about his penchant for cronyism.
- To engage in some fear-mongering. Spitzer claims that if the government doesn?t step in where Ambac and MBIA are concerned, Wall Street could experience a ?financial Tsunami.? Nothing like a little paranoid hyperbole to shake things up, right?
I would say that Jim Cramer is a cartoon character, CNBC?s very own Yosemite Sam, if he wasn?t so calculating. Every guest, every company he bashes, every stock he pumps, everything that comes out of both sides of his mouth should be taken with a grain of salt. He has readily admitted that he has a history of stock manipulations. You cannot just dismiss that fact when the guy talks.
Just because someone is living the high life, that doesn?t mean he isn?t a lowlife. Spitzer and Cramer, old law school buddies, have done well for themselves. That does not, however, mean that they have your best interests in mind. If Eliot Spitzer is a longtime friend of Cramer?s, you have to wonder about his integrity, too. Birds of a feather and all that.
Oprah is just annoying. Jim Cramer is dangerous.
That?s the Word on the Street.
Veracity Jones,