Investor outrage now has a voice, in the form of comedian Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.
For those who don't stay up late, Mr. Stewart took on CNBC host-cum-hedge fund manager Jim Cramer on Thursday night. It was billed as Brawl Street; the latest installment of Mr. Stewart's pointed criticism of the financial press in general and CNBC's cheerleading coverage in particular. This series of attacks are must-see viewing on YouTube.
It ain't exactly a brawl when one side don't fight. The normal feisty Mr. Cramer spent the session alternating between apologizing for past sins and promising to do better in the future. The fund manager did his best work earlier in the day on the Martha Stewart show, beating down on pastry with a rolling pin.
Mr. Stewart, however, is successfully channeling both his own frustration at what a few misguided souls on Wall Street has wrought and the greater public anger at fearful price ordinary working people will pay for the games played in markets. And he pounded Mr. Cramer with broadsides that included video footage from 2006 showing CNBC's leading light pretty much admiting to market manipulation.
Mr. Stewart is articulate, he's razor sharp and he's got social satire nailed. He made Tier 1 capital ratios funny. He also made a point that's been somewhat overlooked: A great many honest, hard-working individuals on the Street are paying a fearsome price for the mistakes of colleagues and leaders who worshipped at the alter of leverage.
For the YouTube generation, Mr. Stewart is issuing a call to arms, against a system that went radically wrong. As someone who works in the business media, the talk show host's critiques are, to put it mildly, food for thought.
