UPDATED Stewart vs. Cramer face off: Must-See TV

Jim Cramer and Jon Stewart

[Ed. note: video now embedded below, via The Daily Show.]

You’ve got to admire the kind of je ne sais quoi it takes to go up against Jon Stewart on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show after being bloodied for a week in a cable network skirmish.

But you’ve also got to wonder at the lack of self-awareness CNBC’s Jim Cramer displays in his mano a mano appearance. Judge for yourself, though, see if you have a different opinion of the end result from this video snippet at this link (WMV) or at this link (QuickTime). 

(A tip of the hat to the so aptly named Crooks and Liars for providing the sneak peek before TDS had their own video up on the site. Check back as we’ll update this post and embed TDS’ video once it has been published.)

We can hardly wait to see the full video again; there have been reports that the taping session at Comedy Central ran far longer than a typical taping session, and that the video actually needed to be trimmed by as much as eight minutes to fit the allocated time slot when aired.

A few things to consider when viewing the video:

Where’s Rick Santelli, whose rant on CNBC against irresponsible homeowners and the Obama administration set in motion this week-long drubbing? It was Santelli’s “bail out” after accepting an invitation to appear on TDS that launched the first comedic bruising.

What would have happened if the Jon Stewart we see in this video had assertively questioned financial industry executives and captains of industry over the last decade?

One might wonder if we’ve seen the birth of a new format for financial news networks: the comedian who really can really cut through the haze of financial-speak with rapier wit. What a pity for NBC and its financial news outlet CNBC that they didn’t think of this “Must-See TV” opportunity and develop it before this internecine cable network warfare with Comedy Central’s TDS.

UPDATE: Here’s the video from TDS; there are multiple videos which will play sequentially if you follow the next one as it is offered by TDS.

There are a number of viewers who’ve said they almost feel pity for Jim Cramer after the Thursday evening program. What do you think?