* OT * Part of the Abelson article on Cramer and TheStreet.com:
"A recent article in the New York Times referred to James J. Cramer as a
Wall Street "triple threat." The phrase, borrowed from football, was meant to
be complimentary, of course, equating Mr. Cramer's formidable
multi-disciplinary achievements (he's a star of portfolio, print and TV) with the
now-obsoleted but once revered back who could run, pass or kick with
devastating dexterity. As it happens, "triple threat" is not entirely inapt as a
literal description of Mr. Cramer's performance in his various roles.
On television, for example, Mr. Cramer is an unfailing and formidable threat
to coherence. In print, he's a threat to objective journalism, since he's an
unremitting practitioner of subjective journalism, with only one subject --
himself. And, as hedge-fund manager, Mr. Cramer, whose portfolio was up
all of 2% last year (after fees, although what the fees were for, we're not
clear), is manifestly a threat to the financial well-being of his limited partners.
To recognize Mr. Cramer's peccadilloes in no way diminishes the awe that he
inspires in us as someone who never stops talking, but never says anything. A
faculty so rare, so daunting to emulate, can be viewed only as a very special
gift."
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