Hearing Jon Stewart eviscerate CNBC for its winking complicity was like tasting fresh air for the first time after years of breathing David Broder’s farts. It was a sacrilege that no Villager would ever be allowed to commit, a violation of their version of Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not undermine the credibility of your fellow Villagers.
It takes someone from outside the Village’s incestuous little bubble to understand and speak for us ordinary non-Village people. Sure, pundits like Brooks and Broder sometimes profess to speak for The Common Man, but their words reflect only the narrow universe of Village consensus and interests.
When Jon expressed his anger at CNBC and Cramer treating the market and the economy "like it’s a fucking game" when it’s people’s lives, that really brought it home. The Villagers are set for life no matter what happens to the economy – they don’t have a stake in the outcome, and they don’t care about those of us who do. (Incidentally, one could make a similar critique of the state of political and campaign coverage, which is often indistinguishable from the sports pages.)
The Villagers are very good at finger-wagging tsk-tsks over imagined incivilities, but they don’t know how to say things like "Shame on you," "You’ve failed in your responsibility to the American people," or "You’re hurting America" when they need to be said. Apparently only comedians and outsiders are fit to be America’s conscience now – and we need them desperately.
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Ooooh, zed!
Evening, Eli,
Wasn’t that great show? I missed the original but was just was watching the clips from Comedy Central’s website.
Jon S was *so good*. Not just angry (although, yes, angry) but accurate and prepared. And I really have to wonder,
1.) aren’t some laws being broken here? and
2.) why isn’t the Dem party on stuff like this?
Evening, HotFlash. Yes, that was absolutely amazing. You don’t realize that it’s been missing until you suddenly see it.
Court Jester:
my bold.
In the corporatist world in which we live, Jon is the jester.
That is the function of the fool in drama, isn’t it? The only one who will tell the king he’s full of shit.
We’re in the middle of Act II and it’s a fucking tragedy.
Too true. I even used that very word in an earlier draft.
Ha! Jinx.
the villagers seem to have their insulated wall up – no one is to talk about ‘it’ so they can pretend to be ok. nothing on ko and nothing so far on rachel.
their jobs depend on their not knowing.
Stewart is the fool, and the Villagers are the courtiers.
Although I’m pretty sure Rove, or Rush, is the King, not Obama.
dugg
I was going for a broader, more systemic “king.”
But come to think of it, the boxoffice from a steel cage death-match between Stewart and Broder could probably keep California afloat for at least a year.
The failings of CNBC are identical to BigMedia coverage of politics. Here is one of my favorite quotes on the subject.
The Village’s King is probably either the GOP or… itself.
So, my question is — what’s Stewart going to do for an encore?
He’s got to be aware of how much people have been clamoring for someone to speak this kind of truth to power, and the wave of support he’s got now.
Can he — does he even want to — capitalize on this populist momentum?
Capitalize how?
or Bat Boy
I wish. The world would be a much better place.
watching a witty, passionate guy call out the media for its feckless corporate cheerleading gets old real fast,…
not here – I just keep on re-running it. Maybe I’m a catharsis junkie.
was like tasting fresh air for the first time after years of breathing David Broder’s farts.
Nice line. Heya, Eli!
Coincidentally, the WWN is all over the Stewart/Cramer smackdown.
Rachel is dying to say it right now!
She did!!!
Like i said over at digby’s – Jon’s morphing into Glenn Greenwald, despite himself.
And why not? Desperate times and all that.
Yay Rachel!
Rachel is covering it—orders from the front office or not.
Go Rachel!
the new kid on the nbc block dares to talk about what her elders fear
Well, that’s kinda what I’m wondering myself.
It just seems like there’s an opportunity here to make something happen — like he’s caught lightning in a bottle, and it would be a shame to not make something positive happen from it.
I don’t know exactly what that could be, but I think even more than before, the scales have fallen from people’s eyes and they’re reassessing what their media outlets have been feeding them.
Heya, jayt!
I was a bit worried about being, like, the fifth person to post on the Cramer smackdown, but such are the perils of an evening timeslot…
Eli — thanks for the clip. I had heard about it, but hadn’t seen it yet.
The best Fool ever was Shakespeare’s fool in King Lear — stayed w/ Lear even during the hellacious storm when Lear had his epiphany about his daughters.
Let’s hope Obama has a true Fool, one as good as Lear’s.
Holy cow! Rachel just said the Washington Post announced today that it will no longer carry it’s business section (online? Must be)….and it most likely has to do with the Stewart v. Cramer match last night.
It’s a fine line, though – if he becomes a crusader, he ceases to be a comedian. But he could certainly call CNBC and Cramer out every time they fuck up, and throw Cramer’s we’ll-do-better promises back in their faces.
She did! She did! Missed the first five minutes of Keef…….he chickened out, didn’t he?
That was just the last segment – there’s two more. But I thought that was the one with the most good important stuff in it.
Sorry, I understand your reference, but I can’t agree. The fool speaking truth to the king is oblivious.
What Jon did was pure courage, perhaps triggered by outrage and shock at the horrendous level of greed and disconnect between so many in the world of finance, and all those who depend on them, at the very least, to show a shred of honesty.
I salute Jon for his gifts of articulate brilliance and compassion, and for having the good sense to know when it’s time to suspend jokes for some serious smackdown of establishment drones.
Good on you Jon. You’re one of my heroes. We promise to try to follow up after your latest outrageous burst of courage with some good old fashioned shoving on those who just don’t get it, without a little help. ;->
The Broder analogy gives your post on the topic a distinctive aroma.
A guy from the Baltimore Sun’s blog is going to be on Reliable sources Sun:
This could be good. Sorry I’ll be working.
True enough.
I just get a feeling like he’s become the 21st century version of Howard Beale. If he told people to scream out their windows right now, they’d do it.
He must have, though, he looked kind of sad from the parts I saw. I bet when he sees Rachel not getting fired for talking about it…next time he’ll be combative. ;-)
Wow. Worst typo ever.
I blame the antibiotics I’m taking.
Thanks for the Edit feature…
Friends, the press and the government are in bed together in an embrace so intimate and wrong, they could spoon on a twin mattress and still have room for
Ted KoppelRush Limbaugh.There, fixed.
What could it be? How about MSNBC’s directive not to cover it on their shows? How about Cramer going right back to SOP without skipping a beat?
There is no shame, not in the village.
Anyone else think Cramer and Kudlow were making thier own portfolios blossom at every opportunity?
And is there a difference between a financial adviser touting a financial product to boost it’s price, then buying into it, and buying a financial product, THEN touting it to boost it’s shares?
Doesn’t the SEC prohibit both as a form of insider trading?
It would be interesting to track their personal portfolios and compare them with their advice…
Have to be conjoined twin beds…
So Rachel actually covered it? I gave up waiting and tuned out.
It’s a fine line, but I think it’s one he can navigate if he wants to. And I think he might want to. But I think it will mostly take the form of quick hits, and “Special Comment” type moments will be fairly rare.
“the press and the government”
You left out “and Wall Street…”
KO and Tweety didn’t mention it. Joan Walsh slipped it in on Tweety in the last few seconds of the show… and he wasn’t taking the bait. I didn’t watch Shuster today.
Anyway, I will be sending a shame on you Keith email.
No more separate Business section weekdays for the dead tree version of the WaPo0
There is no shame, not in the village.
Ironic, given that there is so much to be ashamed about….
Hey
GENBC Rachel’s E-mail address is …. Oh forget itNo need to apologize, Eli. Many more posts need writing about the smackdown. At least Rachel, albeitly timidly, broke through the GE corporate omerta tonight. Smart of her as well to tie the demise of the WaPo standalone business section today to the hysteria over Cramer v. Stewart.
But I’ve still not seen any Village institution describe accurately what happened last night, just as the Villagers were blindsided by the “you’re hurting America” Stewart leveled at Crossfire and Colbert’s brilliant Correspondents’ Dinner address.
I don’t think the fool is oblivious. It takes a special talent to be a comic. Actors with comedic timing are far more gifted than those who don’t have it. Just like Jazz musicians go that extra mental step past classical.
Comedy takes extra chops to pull off.
Where’s Fitz when you need him?
She’s been getting some really fab guests…building quite a reputation for her interviews, it would seem.
yep.
When Stewart singlehandedly took down Crossfire it was GE MSNBC who gave Tucker Carlson a job.
You hit the nail on the head…
Thank you for posting the link. They’re just downsizing and trying to save some money? Uh ha. Yeah, okay. Maybe it’s the angry mobs they’re feeling after Stewart’s smackdown of one of the Insiders of Wall Street? Yeah, yeah, that sounds more like it to me.
Jon’s kind attention led directly to the demise of “Crossfire”.
That’s the kind of power this mild-mannered superman wields with such consummate grace.
Where is CNBC headed now? Betcha Cramer’s out for the count. And the others, without him, sound even sillier in their dithering as they try to conjure up some semblance of “profound” in a vacuum. Kudlow chief idiot among them, puffing and preening. Methinks the spell is broken.
*fastening seat belt*
Ms. Rachel is awesome! I was so pleased she brought up the James Cummings story. She understands what is important and what is garbage (CNBC!).
Well, as reported earlier today on FDL, the CEO of TheStreet.com has quit:
http://firedoglake.com/2009/03…..interview/
The Wrath of Jon continues!
He is an honest man and when he tackles the tough stuff, he does it in a way that everyone can understand whether it’s through humor or his words or both.
This way they won’t have to report about what
their biggest advertisersthe crooks are doing to the country. Saves face.perhaps I got the strike through reversed. Either way.
Holy cow! Rachel just said the Washington Post announced today that it will no longer carry it’s business section…
Seems a sound business decision to me. I mean, who’s paying any attention to financial matters at the moment?
agreed readily enough. but tain’t no fool in the common sense.
It’s so refreshing to see something other than self-serving doubletalk.
would they simply be hiding under the covers, literally?
that’s why they are so disarming—and effective.
Exactly. Or it could be that those who create the business section for WaPo are also in bed with Wall Street as Cramer is. LOL I mean, really, the connections could be endless! Oh to have a microscope to find out how they all branch off and are connected! ;-)
Hey – I got a new monitor!
Picture’s kinda dark at the moment. Do these things need to be plugged in somewhere or something?
For anyone interested, George Wayne’s “interview” with Rachel in Vanity Fair. Don’t know if it really counts as an interview since Wayne has about forty words to every one of Rachel’s. It’s more or less comedy so don’t bother if you’re looking for substance.
Rachel also had a great takedown of the Democrats last night, which was immediately eclipsed by TDS.
we’re in the midst of a perfect sturm und drang
He truly is. I’ve never gotten the feeling from him that he’s not forthcoming. His humor (as all humor is!) is based on truth and real observances. Stewart has a keen eye and we are so lucky to have him! Can you imagine a right wing Stewart? Oh wait. Neocons don’t know humor, the truth, irony, and still don’t understand sarcasm. Nevermind. Bunch of cannonball heads who aren’t funny at all.
But Jon, in particular, is a master of the art. A hero for the times.
Loved it! She was so right on. She needs to do that segment every night until the DumbDems get it. LOL
Don’t forget to Digg Eli’s great post!
“…Anyone else think Cramer and Kudlow were making thier own portfolios blossom at every opportunity?…”
There’s about a 100% chance that it crossed their minds…at least.
Insofar as insider trading is concerned, no one ever talks about the fact that high-profile media types, politicians, and Brass from publically-traded companies hang together on occasion (and sometimes more than that, as witness Alan and Andrea, for example). Am I actually supposed to believe that a stock trade or a company strategy or pending deal never comes up in casual conversation? Bullshit! I might have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night…
Watching Stewart last night was great ,I’m glad I got to see it
Hard to imagine that a conservative Stewart would have managed to remain conservative throughout the Bush administration, but maybe I’m just biased.
Bless yer heart. Take the thing out of the box and set it on the table, preferably near the keyboard. Do not throw out either cables or battery chargers, whichever you may find in the package…
Tech help please, in aisle 73.
I’ve been watching the show since he took it over—more than 10 years ago. Without it and West Wing I could never have survived the Bush years. They were the saving grace.
I think “An American Carol” was intended to showcase the best that conservatives in the comedy biz have to offer. In fairness, it did inspire laughter, just not theaters.
If you only saw the televised version, you need to dig out the web clips which include quite a bit of unaired footage.
http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/4182
caught the unedited version this AM
Got to hear Jon Stewart say the F word !!
Not exactly a sidenote to last nights festivities, Cramer appeared to brag in thestreet dot com video about futzing with publicly traded stock of at least, but not limited to, 3 companies – Apple, Verizon, and ATT – starting knowingly false rumors as to which telecom giant was out of the running for the iPhone contract.
If we had anything resembling an SEC today, they should have indicted him this morning, or at the very least had him come in for a little chat.
I can believe it. He seems such a gentle soul, truly. But there’s a hard core of courage and a gift with the language, spoken and nonverbal. He’s forever making fun of his acting career of years ago. He found a higher calling. We need him.
the ROLLED UP sleves to indicate he is a hard working man………just makes me want to smack him upside the head with erzatz creampie
bet he bought att stock with his insider info
He was actually in Death To Smoochy relatively recently. I, uh, watched it a few weeks ago.
More accurately, they depend totally on boom-and-bust cycles that they can manipulate and game to derive their incomes. That’s why there’s short-selling, just for one example. Moving paper “money” around and staying ahead of the game is their stock-in-trade.
Heaven help them if there was anything like a steady-state economy. Then they’d have to actually produce something.
Ding!
Boston Legal had some pretty spectacular moments too.
Unfortunately, Teh Mouse seems to have spiked almost all of the great James Spader closing arguments from appearing on YouTube ….
Ted Koppel,ugh and his BLOOD LUSTING neo con SHRILL troglodyte daughter
The thing is, they get paid well for being wrong all the time, no matter what’s happening to the economy.
I’m still amazed that I’m not consistently wrong enough to make the big bucks.
Jon should get an Emmy. Alan Grayson should get the Medal Of Freedom. Found this at Huff Po.
Regulator: Before Banks Collapsed, They Pleaded With Feds To Let Them Fudge Their Books
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..74850.html
practice, practice, practice…..
That’s cuz you’re not wrong about the right things ! *g*
GENERAL ELECTRIC gave us the very vile ketchup is a vegetable like myself RONNIE RAYGUN
ZOMG!
Alan Grayson is also fantastic. Pulls almost no punches, although I did think he was biting his tongue when I asked him what he thought of Obama’s economic team.
This is true. I need to be more pro-corporate in my wrongness.
Didn’t realize he had sired troglodyte progeny.
FABULOUS!
Alan Grayson should get the Medal Of Freedom.
Whuh?
Name just *one* foreign war that Alan Grayson has started, planned, or been in any way involved with….
anyone else notice cramer’s sleeves looked as if his mother rolled them up for him. And he must have been wearing depens under his arms. I kept waiting for the stain to spread. He must have been prepanicked enough to have taken precautions. Dang. Thas alright. Enjoyed his voice quaver gradually grow & morph into a whine.
Dick Cheney on CNN Sunday, where he will undoubtedly confess to having directed right-wing death squads…
bigtime BIGTIME(cHENEY) worshipper and war cheerleader ugh
There were definitely some moments when the “oh shit” fear was clearly visible, although I get the impression that he’s kind of a high-strung jumpy guy even under the best of circumstances.
The rolled up sleeves were to signify his empathy for average Americans. Evidently he hasn’t received the memo that everyone is losing their shirts.
Attaboy !
sounds like a real fun date, ewwwww.
Alas, I have a sister like that. Can happen in the best of families, some sort of regressive wingnut gene.
Everything about his body language signaled that he had surrendered before the fight.
Jon was prepared for his defensive posture and the video clips spoke volumes.
he needs an apron and a cleaver.
Great post, Eli, thanks.
got an e-mail from my congresscritter today, Sestak:
fixed it.
mebbe he could go on Martha and learn how to make perfect bagels.
Now that Sam Donaldson is retiring maybe Cramer can have his rug…
Thanks, Boo!
The Apple/Verizon/ATT segment-clip 216 –
questioner: “Another stock that a lot of people are focused on seems to be Apple…”
cramer: “Yeah, Apple’s very important, to spread the rumor that um, that both, um, Verizon and, um, ATT have decided that they don’t like the phone. That’s a very easy one to do because, it’s also you wanna spread the rumor that it’s not going to be ready for MacWorld. And this is very easy, ’cause the people who write about Apple want that story, and you can claim that it’s credible because you spoke to someone at Apple, ’cause Apple isn’t, doesn’t…”
questioner: “They’re not going to comment…”
please don’t tell me. a bear?
snort>>>>>>>>>tea
I doubledog dare John King to ask the question …
nagonhappin
Jon didn’t let Cramer go loud and get into competitive hyperbole. He played it just right and insisted not to be talked to like a 5 year old. No goofiness… and he said the right stuff. He was civil and dead serious.
I never have watched Cramer but he was apparently seriously reining it in and picking up cues from Jon. Jon led him on the tightrope with his humane grace, treating him like a shameful not stupid human being who he knows knows better. And he made the point, Cramer sinned, but there are many aware and clueless sinners out there clutching their plunder.
Jon’s “Jack Benny” looks at the camera have been so eloquent and cathartic for all of us. But he went the serioud distance on this. This is second only to the courage of Colbert at the Commentator’s Dinner I think. Did his homework well, too. And always his humility. The stuff about his mother was a good relate-able sharing.
We need standup (mensch) people, like Jon, Colbert, Rachel, Greenwald, and I’ll give it to KO, especially his lone diatribes early on of the truth during the Bush insanity coming from his sports background. Like Frank Rich being a theater critic. I think Rich is an awesome gift as political columnist.
Thanks, Eli.
I can haz Verizon iPhone with slider keyboard?
All the Sunday talking head programs are like that. Every week I swear I won’t turn the TV on but I do anyway. An exercise in futility but the resulting increase in blood pressure probably burns a few extra calories.
nagonhappin was to you
Thinking more along the line of the “Hell Toupee.”
This is one of the benefits of not being a morning person…
That would be revision 15, after they get around to the cup holder/optical drive.
It really ties the dome together, man.
Is that before or after copy & paste?
“Kind of”? Hoo boy, watching the video clips . . . how ’bout full-blown-bat-shit manic . . .
well said
HAH ! It might, if Darth commands him to ask it …
“…although I did think he was biting his tongue when I asked him what he thought of Obama’s economic team…”
I got that sense, also.
thank dog for small favors. no beverages about. I’d totally forgotten THE rug. dead skunk, then. *g*
He was pretty restrained when he was giving pointers on how to game the system.
Being stuck with a Treo is a teeny-tiny blessing.
Insighful comment. Thanks.
We should start a pool. If he comes anywhere near asking the question, it will be couched in some kind of suckup language.
Heh. It serves me pretty well, but whatever hits Verizon first out of the Pre, the Touch Pro2, or a slider iPhone, that’s what I’ll be getting.
Touch Pro2 is actually my first choice – 800X480!
I’m waiting for the model that has the cruise missle launcher.
How sad is it that I’ve gone OT under my own post…
loved it. he seemed to assume it was just between the 2 of them, no one else to listen in and discover the secret decoder ring. well, water over, under & through the dam…. tra la la.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW, PUNK???
If it doesn’t sync to a Mac using the Palm Desktop, I’m hanging back. That is a tall order for Palm these days, unless you want a Centro… Gohd, what a kiddie-toy that thing is.
It came with matching eyebrows and sideburns, although Sam stopped wearing the latter at some point during the ’80s. The rug would have looked more natural if the manufacturer hadn’t dyed the white stripe that ran down the middle.
Thanks, sadly. :) … isn’t it nice to have morality coming out of the “magic box”? Substance over style …. rationality over titillation!
And on Comedy Central… how ironic… but very telling about the shallowness of our professional journalists today.
as cramer the expert said, it’s your house, sire.
Ha!!!
Funny, I posted my comment at 148 before reading your 137. Looks like I owe you a drink.
Yeah, like libbyliberal wrote, Jon set and maintained the tone and demeanor that led Cramer to respond with some reason, as a human being.
Thanks, Dave. How nice to assemble and celebrate a victory for truth to power, eh?
No, I was talking about the embarrassing clips Jon kept showing, where Cramer was giving pointers on how to talk stocks up or down.
It’s OK, Eli. I’m sure there’s a 12-step group for you somewhere . . .
It’s sad, alright. It took some brass for Stewart to do that takedown. And Colbert at the WH Correspondent’s dinner? Very memorable. Stewart and Colbert have set the bar very high…
Oh. OK.
BTW Eli, great title … spoofing The Wrath of Khan !
oh sheeeeeeeeeeeeet
158 and counting.
Alas, I was apparently not the first to think of it, but I did at least come up with it independently.
But I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to use “Errors Of Comity”, which breaks my heart.
i gave up my cable last month…couldnt take it anymore…NETFIX..fix
Great post Eli. I shall sleep tonight.
p.e.a.c.e. to all
Thanks, Adie! Sleep well.
And to you, Adie.
nite Adie
I wonder if it would be possible to *just* get the movie channels (and the OnDemand, of course)…
To me this reminds me of when Steven Colbert mocked Bush at the Press Club dinner. Both stood up and had the courage to use their art as means to challenge what they saw as injustice.
Bravo I say.
and then apparently went back to his usual behavior on his show today. So I’ve read. You couldn’t pay me to watch him.
OT sort of
DIDJA see Madoff and wifies…130 ft yacht on Huffpo?
Shame about him selling the nuclear secrets and all. Now he and Tattoo are welcoming new arrivals to the Fantasy Island in the sky…
when that happens count me in
I don’t think Stewart had much of anything to lose by doing it. He probably owns the franchise by now.
But for Colbert to do the WH Correspondents Dinner the way he did it just before his own show went on the air. THAT took cajones. Hell, half the folks in the Village still don’t get his schtick. Not to quick on the uptake are they.
They make the surreality palateable enough to wrap our minds around with their satire. Help us recover from the shock and awe as best we can. Like what Mark Twain, Jonathn Swift did. Take the outrageous and reflect it back with a sense of the ridiculous and anger and self-deprecating (as mere mortal) humor. And beware those with colossal hubris! And the sustained and dark ridiculousness that needs highlighting right now extends to the outer limits. They are our consciences these morally stand up and sharp people.
CRAMER??
http://img404.imageshack.us/im…..605nv9.jpg
If Cramer wants to act like a clown on his show, that’s fine with me, and I don’t think he promised to do otherwise. The question is whether he lives up to his promise to improve the information and insight he conveys in the process (I wouldn’t bet on that one).
Jon Stewart acts like a clown on *his* show, and that works out pretty well.
pure courage and brillance
Much of the reason I stick with basic cable. I refuse to have a single dime of my money funding crap like CBN.
In the Cramer on Stewart story I noticed something that I’ve only see one commenter at Crooks and Liar’s mention. Cramer said something like “I wish I could ask these CEOs these questions under oath.”
That is something that I think a lot of people don’t get, that people can and DO lie all the time to journalists, fake journalists, bloggers, friends, relatives and pundits. I understand that, sometimes it isn’t a big deal, it’s subtle shift of focus to another area and is harmless. Other times it IS a big deal. Some people use phrases that aren’t technically lies. A good journalist or interviewer might be able to pin them down, but not always and one reason is that their aren’t a lot of consequences for lying to journalists or the public.
that is eggggsactly right,Mark Twainesque
I think the reason this whole scene has gone viral is because the NBC people, including Meredith Viera and Ms. Martha all took their turn at lining up to defend the ass clown, and they totally do not “get it” that the anger in our country is really smokin’.
The reason that Stewart will keep getting cred is because he is the first one to really step up for the anger that is out here.
It is not organized yet, but it is growing.
Do you suppose more lawyers with shows would help? I’ve noticed that good lawyers (and quasi-lawyers like Marcy) are really good at detecting bullshit and parsing.
Reminds me of an old SNL Weekend Update segment. They showed a photo of Dan Quayle holding a pumpkin next to his head. “Question: can you tell the difference between these two spherical objects? Answer: the one on the right will eventually have a light in it.”
The Villagers live in a bubble where they only talk to and about other Villagers. They’re completely oblivious to this rage, or else they imagine that it’s rage against the same things *they* don’t like.
Past life. Karma’s doing its thing now.
nite all,Eli another homerun post…sweet dreams
Colbert Stewart KOand Rachel keep watch
707!
Thanks, and g’night!
Marlon Brando once told an interviewer something to the effect that “An actor is the kind of a person who if you ain’t talking about him, ain’t listening.”
The villagers are like that, nothing registers that doesn’t reinforce their preconceptions.
I read somewhere today a point that was really spot on—someone had just finally gotten around to seeing Frost Nixon which essentially focuses on the pressure of asking the right questions without a script and under pressure. It’s an art and very hard to do. You have to be an exceptional listener and VERY quick witted to hone the come back question. That’s what Stewart can do better than almost anyone these days. It really is an amazing talent.
g’nite Sadly
because the NBC people, including Meredith Viera and Ms. Martha all took their turn at lining up to defend the ass clown,
Oh please, please don’t forget “Douche-Borough”.
Are you certain it’s a hyphenated name? Seems kinda progressive for Joe.
I thought cracking up at that was Cramer’s most sympathetic moment.
confirmation name? Maiden name?
I can live without the hyphen….
nite sadly!
Yep. Stewart’s one of those beings who are able live in the present moment. And keep moving, moment to moment to moment. I’m very glad he’s in the world — and in the media arena.
didn’t I see somewhere that Cramer told Martha Stewart that he was nervous about going on TDS? And that Martha said “You should be – Jon’s really fast.”?
Or something like that.
The public has that schadenfreude deal always going … and the press is their titillation dealer.. but then there is that sympathy that goes out to the spotlighted ones when they are willing to face the music and willing to be cross-examined like with Hugh Grant long ago on Leno, Cramer this week on Stewart. Some kind of catharsis but then a danger to let it go with the one catharsis. Okay, they passed their reality tv moment… and this should not be forgotten. Wonder what will happen to Cramer now? And the ripple effect. Can real people get the scope of it.. the non-villagers… I hope it has resonance. I’m glad it had that hype. Thanks for the commentary, Eli. Keeping those ripples going.
julia upstairs
Say what you will about Cramer, I thought he was a very gracious, perhaps even courageous punching bag. He had to know he was in for the beating of his life, and he took it without complaint.
Lawyers are good, but I think the key is trying to get to the truth and figuring out what tools you have and how to get past the barriers that are put into place AND self imposed. I would like to help some journalists do their job better, but they are so full of themselves they think they don’t need help.
You know people often think that it would be great to “nail” some of these people like Jon did, but it is really hard to do if you ever want to have a meeting with them again. I’ve run into Cokie Roberts several times at the grocery store. I’ve asked people, “What do you want me to ask her or tell her?” and people don’t really have an easy answer. You also have to figure out how to get her to go beyond her first response. “Who are you, why should I talk to you?”
And then you would need to video tape it and up it up on Youtube.
I’m not saying Cramer specifically needs to be held up to sustained anger. I meant the systemic behavior of ALL the “get over” guys who have embraced amoral profiteering.
Stature and cachet certainly play a large part of it. If Jon Stewart where some nobody, CNBC never would have deigned to acknowledge him, much less send over one of their stars to get beaten up.
But hey, if you have a really sharp cookie who doesn’t care about getting a second interview… Or enough status that their victims are obliged to go back…
I was agreeing with you about it being kind of a “mea culpa” moment for Cramer, where he passed his reality show test, at least in terms of not being a complete jerk… or no-show, like Santelli (boy did that ever work out well).
I think I was thinking of schmoozy tv appearing types like McCain who can talk the talk in terms of “personality” and hide the “character” corruption so well. Enjoyed having Letterman dish it to him for a while. People really appreciate courage or bravado, even in their anti-heroes. And we are such a personality culture it seems. With amnesia. I remember when Ollie North appeared on camera in uniform and with that earnest righteousness. He suddenly gained popularity and empathy.
Well, Cramer *could* have done that, but Jon kept showing those damning clips…
I tried to help some journalists during the pet food crisis who were being duped by the FDA and the USDA. The FDA wouldn’t reveal a key piece of information.
A major Chicken Processor fed tainted feed to 20,000,000 chickens that went right to the human food supply. They allowed the USDA to certify it and sell it to people. The chickens ate the same stuff that killed thousands of cats and dogs. The chickens ate the same stuff that killed babies in China. And then this food processor sold those chickens to humans. And the food processor convinced the FDA and USDA to never reveal their name. That is corporate control of information. I didn’t reveal it because of food disparagement laws. (The same stuff that the Beef Industry got Oprah on.)
What could we have done if we were in the press briefings? I could have revealed the name and then forced them to deny it. But I wasn’t a paper/media company with status so I couldn’t even get in to the press briefing phone call.
On CNBC CEOs have to be careful what they say because if they mess up and say something that can cause the stock to slide. So they are often trained to avoid talking about stuff that is dangerously real. And the “journalists” don’t want to be the people that lead to the stock to slide because they will never get another CEO guest.
I disagree. Cramer sat there a lied like a rug. He reminded me of a 5 year old caught red-handed who still looks his Mom in the eye and swears he didn’t do it. His genial manner was a desperate attempt to rehabilitate his battered image. There was nothing about his conduct that suggested real remorse nor even sincere acknowledgment that he had done anything wrong.
Was just thinking of what happened to Rather when he drifted from the “corporate reservation”. He got Serpico’d. Talk about hardball. And look at 60 Minutes airing the Gaza clips.
AIG is hiring that infamous pr firm. Blackwater was it changed their name. Israel is working on their pr. Wow. That is where the money goes. Bandaid cover-ups. Distraction. Appearance not reality. Branding and cronyism and the citizens turn to “style” too often. The big con.
Even watching those mortgage commercials that look like real newspeople are depressing.
I’m just talking about style, not content. He wasn’t belligerent or obnoxious, didn’t attempt to fight back.
Style which was imo largely dictated by the surprise of the video clips from the past. I thought I saw him flip from “I got this.” to “Oh shit!” about then.
Yeah, that was pretty beautiful. I wonder if he forgot about those interviews, or thought Jon’s crew wouldn’t find them?
I’m thinking maybe he forgot about them, because after Jon rolled the first clip, he sure didn’t seem to know how bad the follow-up clips would be.
I’m looking forward to the discovery from Rather’s case. It would be nice for people to see just how far corporations go to cover for the Right wing.
Methings Jon’s interns deserve a HUGE bonus! And I think Cramer wondered just how many he had. He was so cavalier with those numbers.
Methinks… not “methings”.. oy vey
You wonder if their is anyone at the SEC who was watching and wondering, “What is the statue of limitations on what he did?”
I think if you’re going on TDS and have even the *slightest* inkling that it might be hostile, you have to assume that they have seen footage of every single time you have appeared on teevee.
One of the problems with video and audio is the inability to easily search for stuff unless there is a transcript.
It is painful to sift though hours of video to find the right thing.
Imagine if we had some of those NSA computers transcribing all those shows and all the politicians and putting the data in searchable mode. We could use their words against them on a regular basis.
Though “they” play that game, too, pulling stuff out of context. Or playing it countless times to hammer home their talking point issue.
Remember, too, when Gary Hart got nailed because there was a “picture” with the mistress, not just the verbal gossip.
That wonderful writer who wrote Free Lunch was it said the right became super successful by studying closely the methods of Ralph Nader. The progressives should have. Wish Obama would make use of him. We need all the brain trust we can muster right now.
Çramer, and others. All named. Fiction or not, they and their games are named.
Guilty, as admitted on TV now . . . and still . . .
What’s not to believe? They rigged the system.
And SEC and FED are all in on it . . .
http://www.deepcapture.com/the…..-mitchell/
No one even alludes to this . . . why? Even allusions have merit . . .
Hell, I STILL believe in The Easter Bunny . . .*G*
I don’t know how much they are in on it – I’ll leave that to folks who read a lot more than me.
But needless to say, if there were an SEC…
If you read Deep Capture, you know the SEC is in on the scam.
And you know the DTCC, the watchdog for stock sales, is gamed, too.
Phantom stocks, naked short selling, rigged Cable and MSM TV pundits, echoing what the Cramer’s of the financial fantasy of CNBC put forth to game it all . . .
And all sanctioned by the Powers That Be in the banking, financial and governmental world.
Our elected officials tied to it all.
http://www.deepcapture.com/the…..-mitchell/
Life is simple, don’t screw it up.
*G*
Subtle.
You are.
*G*
Seriously – I’m content that they were in it for personal gain, not serving a greater evil… As long as we get it back from them.
Once returned, we will see what is what.
I’m not sure ’serving a greater evil’ adequately describes the circumstances by which an incredible group of traders, analysts, organizations, media and more colluded over a few decades to manipulate stocks for profit, and broke the backs of the savings and retirements of the sheeple . . . . not to mention enabling all the things they did and the subsequent world wide depression we are in . . .
If you can’t call that a conspiracy, then I’m not sure what one would be.
I mean, hundreds upon hundreds of people, from banking, finance, media and our elected officials participated in all of this . . . deregulation? Hello? Ronnie Reagan?
Money upwards, middle class destroyed, income and savings eradicated, jobs lost, homes taken, farms abosorbed, small business eliminated, outsourcing, consolidation, on and on and on?
Not a conspiracy?
Then what? Folly?
On who’s part?
Nah . . . there’s a plan, it’s being implemented. With rigour, too.
Money, wealth, power, control, resources and distribution of same all goes upward into fewer and fewer hands.
And out of ours. I’m sure you’ve noticed that, over the past 30 years or so?
*G*
I’m sorry, that part ‘as long as we get it back’?
(cackles maniaclly over spilt cheap merlot)
I want what yer smoking . . . ;-)
That’s probably correct. It was only in the last 8 years that they were dead certain that absolutely nobody was watching, that they could let the horses really run free.
How much naked short selling went on just prior to 9-11 and which companies reflected it?
It is amazing how pathetic and incompetent the financial news media is. CNBC and others are nothing more than cheerleaders for the bullish point of view on the market. And now we see that the best financial news commentary has come not from the financial media but from a comedian on his comedy show. Obviously Jon Stewart is much more than a comedian and clearly is much smarter and better informed than the talking heads on CNBC. In all the years that the banks and brokerage firms were loading up on credit default swaps and other highly leveraged derivatives…where the heck were the warnings that this financial house of cards could come crumbling down and could bring the financial system of the entire Western world with it. Interestingly, the TV show 60 Minutes did just such a piece in 1995. That’s right….way back in 1995 they put such a warning. Too bad the none of the regulators and none of the politicians bothered to take notice. And as they discuss the economic crsis there is still little discussion of what the real problem is…which is toxic assets i.e.credit default swaps gone bad! Thank you Jon Stewart! Great job.