Former analyst Blodget slams Cramer show

Former tech stocks analyst Henry Blodget, writing on Slate, takes aim at Jim Cramer and his CNBC show “Mad Money” for dispensing bad investment advice.

Blodget wrote, “The more I thought about Cramer, the more I realized that pointing out that he gives terrible investment advice would be like pointing out that the sun rises. Worse, I would be dismissed as a wet blanket who didn’t get that the point of Mad Money was just to have a bit of ironic fun. I mean, of course Jim Cramer gives terrible investment advice—we all know that, right?—and we only watch the show because, well, because he does possess a certain bizarre type of market and entertainment genius—if there’s a pundit out there with more opinions about more stocks, I’ve never seen him—and he’s irreverent, madcap, and, yes, even brilliant, in an idiot-savant, freak-show sort of way. (Moreover, Cramer is mesmerizing reality TV. Admit it: You watch because you wonder if this is the night he finally has a heart attack, kills someone, or explodes in a tirade of expletive-laced slander.)

“Reviewing the list of common Mad Money show segments (Stump the Cramer, Am I Nuts?, Pimpin’ All Over the World) and sound effects (squealing pigs, a wrecking train, a toilet flushing, a screaming man falling out a window and then crashing on the ground), I realized that, yes, I was taking Jim Cramer waaaaaay too seriously, that his nonstop comedy routine about being a brilliant and respected investor and making everyone rich is just shtick, and that there couldn’t possibly be a Mad Money viewer who actually believes that he provides intelligent advice.”

Read more here. The Dealbook blog on the New York Times website notes that Blodget critiquing Cramer has plenty of irony.

Dealbook stated, “Mr. Blodget, who recently published ‘The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A Consumer’s Guide to Intelligent Investing’, has been the subject of some bitter opinion pieces. A few weeks ago, MarketWatch’s Wall Street columnist, David Weidner, expressed ire over Mr. Blodget’s recent punditry. Mr. Weidner said that it was a ‘sign of the apocalypse’ that Mr. Blodget is allowed to comment on bad stock-pickers, adding that ‘Blodget himself lost a bundle in tech stocks.'”