Stewart vs CNBC (via Cramer)

In all the episodes I’ve watched of “The Daily Show” I’ve never sat so far on the edge of my seat and been so tense as I was during the interview with CNBC's "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer. I’ve watched Jon Stewart nail Mike Huckabee to the wall over the gay marriage issue, but tonight he put Cramer and CNBC through it for their role in the financial mess. And yes, by not paying attention to what actually happened with the banks, and believing whatever they were told, they played a role. People actually trust the newspeople to give them the information they need to form educated decisions on what stocks to purchase.

Cramer’s arguments were lame. He went on this show obviously thinking it was going to be a lark and he tried to actually play it like that. Thank goodness Jon didn't do it that way and gave the showdown the tone it should have. He spoke on behalf of all the laypersons who have been dragged into this mess against our will and very seriously demanded answers.

Shoulda shoulda shoulda. Cramer had no excuses for ignoring what was really happening and reporting the lies he was told by financial CEOs. “I’m not Edward R. Murrow.” No shit. But, as Jon pointed out, and which is a Journalism 101 lesson: “You don’t just take their word at face value.”

Cramer is a cartoon who at one point actually might have known what he was talking about. Now his TV personality has taken over his brain and he thinks that those he used to work with when he was in the finance industry are still his friends. Dude, here's news for you if you haven't actually figured it out--they USED YOU! You became their patsy. Why didn't you, or anyone else at CNBC follow them around asking how long this country was going to last on money that doesn't actually exist??

At the very least, Cramer promised to do better, and Stewart practically begged him to lose the slapstick shenanigans and report the reality.

This interview bears watching again. And of course, as I write this, Comedy Central still hasn't posted it. I'll update as soon as I can or you can hit the Daily Show's site to check for yourself.

(And just as an aside, it's really hard to write a serious post when there's a little kitty lying next to you perfuming the air with cat food farts.)