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  Opening Segment #1:
Bengate?
  Wednesday, June 24, 2009
 
 

[Beginning of Cramer's verbatim comments for this segment...]

Jim:
      
Today, I heard it all... today, I heard an attack on Ben Bernanke's integrity. Some congressman, Darryl Issa, suggested that Fed Chairman basically engaged in a cover up and, I quote, "deliberately hid concerns and pertinent details of the Bank of America, Merrill Lynch deal."

I think the implication of this congressman's charges, that Ben Bernanke made an offer to Ken Lewis (CEO of Bank of America)... that he couldn't refuse... that he had to buy Merrill no matter what...

Ben Bernanke is someone who strong armed Ken Lewis into buying a bank that Ken Lewis at Bank of America had coveted for years? What are we going to hear next? That Ben Bernanke put a horse head in Lewis' bed?... Did Bernanke treat Lewis like he was Hyman Roth?... Bernanke, leave the gun... take the cannoli.

I am appalled at this charge...

I know, I criticized Ben Bernanke for not cutting rates quickly... Come on, that's a YouTube thing... "They Know Nothing!"... That's when I ranted and raved about how bad things really were back in 2007... I know Bernanke totally dismissed my idea that he would need to buy mortgage bonds a year ago. I think he thought I was nuts... Ha, ha... get in line.

Well now, Bernanke's bought back more bonds than I ever thought possible... No one... no one in this country criticized Bernanke harder, and more often, than I did... I mean, come on... But not once, not once did I ever criticize this man's integrity, because it's ludicrous! This man is completely and utterly incapable of doing what Issa described...

 

I cannot believe that anyone - even a congressman - would level such a serious charge at Bernanke. When you think of a cover up charge, and you're in congress, you're saying that Bernanke belongs with the Watergate burglars in the Nixon White House.

Look, we were in a tough moment. Ken Lewis wanted Merrill Lynch. How much simpler could it get than that? He wanted Merrill Lynch. I'll repeat that... he wanted Merrill Lynch! There was no gun, nor a cannoli, to Lewis' head!

Why does all of this matter to you? Why do I even care? Am I some sort of moralizer?... Because Issa's charge that Bernanke didn't just play politics, but treated Ken Lewis like Michael Corleone treated Senator Geary... is nuts. It's preposterous.

Ben Bernanke is the single-most honest and independent man I've come across in 30 years on Wall Street... Of course, he wasn't from Wall Street... he is from Dillon, South Carolina...

The charge will be proven baseless even, as you listen to Issa, you probably expect that Bernanke said to Lewis, "you have my answer now"... or, if you like "my final offer is this... nothing"... not even the merger fees for the deal.

It's pretty clear then that, if Issa presses his case though... If he doesn't turn around and say, look, I didn't mean to imply that Bernanke put a gun to the head of Lewis... or a horse in the bed of Lewis for that matter... then the man who rescued this market is going to be tarnished, and we need this guy.

The charge is outrageous, but the chances of Ben Bernanke being re-appointed in January could be dashed, if Issa presses this ridiculous attack.

The man who navigated us out of the second Great Depression, when all of us were scurrying for cover... the man who saved this market... he could be history? And for what? For a ridiculous charge of cover up like he's Nixon himself?...

Alright, let's be clear about what this meant today...

The baseless charges of Issa came out right when the Fed made its move, which left us in a situation where stocks could have resumed their upward climb, because there was a statement which said we're okay... we're actually getting a little bit better... We're going to stay vigilant... maybe things aren't that bad. Hey, it was all the things that you wanted to hear... it was all the things that would have sent the market up... but it came right at the time of this charge.

And, by the way, in the absence of Issa's ridiculous accusations, I think we could have had a great rally, predicated on Oracle's terrific quarter... terrific quarter... something you would have never guessed, if you read a headline like this one... This is a major paper... "Tech Slump Finally Catches Oracle"...

Um, okay...

Oracle's quarter, of course, was a barn burner, with great growth... much better than expected... an amazing return to a much better business. By the way, it is what's known as the enterprise, the corporation... which is now spending on information technology again... a huge, huge change... Tech slump didn't catch Oracle... Oops, that's my rewrite... It moved
the Nasdaq up more than a percent and a half... yet, neither the Wall Street Journal's misdirected Oracle story, nor even Issa's malicious slur, could hurt the Nasdaq...

I was laughing, because I actually had to go listen to the conference call... and it was like the greatest quarter. I couldn't believe it... and I pick up (The Wall Street Journal, which headlined...) "Tech Slump Finally Catches Oracle"... uh...

You must realize that, in this market, it's all about, "In Bernanke, we trust"... It ain't about "Bengate!" Will you give me a break?...

Does Issa think that Bernanke's part of the same political hypocrisy that he is?... I've got news for him... It's not Nixon, it's not Watergate, it's not Corleone, not Godfather... It's about a man who is the single-most important, least political, and most honest guy in the government today... someone who is doing his best to save this economy, and I can't stand by on Mad Money without defending this Fed Chairman, and wondering... as Joseph Welch said about a different smearing politician, Senator Joe McCarthy...

Mr. Issa, have you no sense of decency sir?... Because, if you do, you will recognize the gravity of the charge, and understand that Ben Bernanke is a great man who deserves better...

As Welch continued, "Let us not assassinate"... Well, my own paraphrase... "Let us not assassinate this Fed Chairman further, Darryl Issa. You've done enough."

The bottom line...

▼   ▼   ▼   ▼   ▼

The Bottom Line!:     Ben Bernanke should be regarded as a hero, and this is from one of his biggest critics at a time... not a borderline crook. And anything that derails his chances from being reappointed in January as Fed Chairman, will indeed derail this stock market.

 
 
 

[verbatim recap]

[end of segment]

Read Jim's next Segment here  

Market Results today:

Dow:  - 23

Nasdaq:  + 27

S&P 500:  + 6

See all of tonight's stocks mentioned
on Yahoo! Finance,
here...

 
 
 
   
 
   
 

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