We all love the Daily Show for poking fun at the political scene. Now we also get to love it for being right, and taking the moral high ground. It is about time someone spoke up about the ludicrously of business shows, and how they lack a sense of both good and evil.
This is how it happened; CNBC pundit Rick Sanetlli ranted about president Obama’s stimulus package, comparing it to ‘communist Cuba’ and called on other traders around him to voice their support in his criticism. As Jon Stewart saw it, this was criticism coming from some of the people who had been at the steering wheel getting America into this financial disaster. He proceeded to make fun of Santelli, then to Jim Cramer who hosts a gimmicky, and rather idiotic looking investment called Mad Money, show on CNBC. These kinds of shows are a symbol of the blind, greed driven market frenzy of past decades. The Daily Show aired a clip from this show, where Cramer advised viewers to buy shares in Bear Stearns, just weeks before the bank collapsed. The day after, Cramer said the clip was taken out of context, and consequently, the next airing of Stewart’s show aired a longer clip, proving it wasn’t out of context. Cramer then went on the Today Show (on CNBC, of course) getting support, and escalating his fall even further.
Jim Cramer is a guest on the Daily Show tonight. Now that will be interesting.