CNBC’s Burnett Reveals Cramer 'Certifiably' Crazy; Why She Called Bush a 'Monkey'

January 18th, 2008 4:05 PM

CNBC "Street Sweetie" Erin Burnett revealed what some might have suspected about "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer all along.

"[H]e's crazy - certifiably," Burnett said on the January 18 "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

Of course, Cramer is a regular on NBC's "Today" and "Nightly News" as an expert on the economy. On December 19, Cramer appeared on "Today" and was very critical of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke for not cutting interest rates more than a quarter point. In another "Today" appearance on January 17, he declared the economy was in a recession, a 180-degree change from his comments earlier in the month when he declared "sunny skies" were ahead for the economy.

O'Brien commented on Cramer's January 5 "Late Night" appearance, when Cramer apparently took medication while the show was taping.

"The other thing is when you saw him pull something out of his pocket when we cut away," O'Brien said. "But, those were pills. He started taking these crazy pills that I think he wanted me to take so I would be as crazy as him on the air."

Burnett attempted to clear up remarks she made about President George W. Bush, when she called him "a monkey" on MSNBC's November 30 "Morning Joe."

"I meant it as a joke, actually," Burnett said. "Because, you know, he was walking next to the president of France, President [Nicolas] Sarkozy, who, obviously is very attractive, not just to Carla Bruni [former supermodel and Sarkozy's significant other], but even Rudy Giuliani has talked about a man crush on Sarkozy. So, I was just talking about who I thought was better looking."

Is Erin Burnett a shoplifter, or was it just a case of the pre-"Late Show" jitters?

"You know, I was nervous - did I say when I came here? I was so nervous that I forgot to pay for my dress. People may have seen it when I walked out," Burnett said, referring to the security tag still on her dress. "Well, I guess that goes to show you if we are in a recession, just take the clothes."