In a must-read, Esquire’s Scott Raab interviews Jim Cramer. It qualifies for must-read status not because of what Cramer says but for all the peeks we get into the world of “maintaining” Jim Cramer…(via Talking Biz News)
“I do not care where stocks have been,” he went on after Ann Curry asked him about swallowing big losses by selling out. “I care where they’re going. And I don’t want people to get hurt in this market.”
And a few moments later, his eyes closed and his voice pleading, he said, “I’ve thought about this all weekend. I did not want to say these things on TV.” And then, hushed and hesitant, he predicted a 20 percent decline.
The Dow sank nearly 400 points that very day, October 6. By week’s end, it had dropped 18 percent. Anyone heeding his advice — I didn’t, by the way — avoided a severe haircut. Some folks pointed at Cramer, historically bullish, as a cause of the stampede; others noted, rightly, that investors ought never — no matter the trend — buy stocks with money they might need over a five-year time horizon. But for all of that, it was no less a gorgeous call. Cramer nailed it, and even as Wall Street gurgled down the crapper, Mad Money’s ratings shot higher.
Oddly, though, folks close to Cramer at CNBC seem wary, worried. His executive producer and the public-relations VP both tell me, “I’m fiercely protective of Jim” — word for word — as if they speak of a bear cub or baby seal, not the fearless wampum warrior who, in the network’s own ad, ranks with Orwell as a truth-teller. The guy’s famous and wealthy, riding high: How much protection does he need?
Don’t worry, I assure the executive producer. I’m a huge Cramer fan. Gospel truth. I swear.
She flinches visibly, as though I’d just pulled out a pistol.
“Please don’t say that,” she says. “Every writer says that. And then they go ahead and rip him to shreds.”
