John Amato has video of Matt Lauer asking Jim Cramer why he doesn't candy-coat the state of the economy.
Lauer: …they say why don’t you guys stop talking about recession because simply by talking about it, you’re going to freak out consumers and definitely push us into one. Is there any logic to that thinking?
Cramer: The answer is that we can, we have to point out the positives with the negatives.
Lauer: But if consumer confidence in spending is a large part of what goes into possibly creating a recession, by talking about it, is there an emotional side to it?
Cramer: There is, but also we have to report the news. And there is an astounding decline in business in the country. If we say that there isn’t, we cannot be possible doing our jobs.
Say what you will about Cramer, but he tends to be brutally honest about the economy. Last night, he actually used the word "depression".