I don't think so.
A fellow by the name of Mark Haines put me on air on CNBC. At that point Mark, who passed away suddenly last year, was in his heyday, warning people about buying dot-coms on the way up because he said it would all end badly.
He was tough, much tougher than I was in the Trulia interview yesterday morning. He always said, "Jim, no free passes." Don't give executives a platform to just repeat what's terrific about their enterprises. Ask them about profits. Ask them about what they will do with the money, as my colleague David Faber did yesterday. Put some fear into those at home who might otherwise lose their money if they don't know what they are doing with this online real-estate aid.
I am proud to follow in the tradition of Haines. That's why I could not give the Trulia CEO a pass on his big day.
Thanks, Mark, for teaching me how to do my job. It's our duty to be skeptical. No regrets, even though it's a lot tougher than just saying, "Congratulations on a successful IPO."
Disclosures: Cramer's charitable trust has no positions in the stocks mentioned.
