Stepping Down the Stairs

Unilever (UN - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Avery (AVY - commentary - Cramer's Take) weren't supposed to disappoint. Neither was Heineken -- although I believe that Anheuser-Busch (BUD - commentary - Cramer's Take) could be next because of this awful weather, which is not conducive to beer-swilling.

Those disappointments, plus the Biogen (BGEN - commentary - Cramer's Take) give-up, where the company sold out to Idec (IDPH - commentary - Cramer's Take), really did take people by surprise in a negative way and reminded us that things are just OK, not great. And that doesn't work if we are as high as we are! So we sold off 127 points on the Dow and 33 points on the Nazz.

But the fact is that the market was cushioned on the way down. It met with buyers at every step and was able to hold on because people truly want in on this market. Bargain hunters are circling this tape constantly.

I think that pattern, of avoiding disaster in a more stairstep decline, not one that looks like an elevator shaft, will be with us all week as we await the Federal Reserve's decision about interest rates.

Not bad, could be worse.

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James J. Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. Outside contributing columnists for TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com, including Cramer, may, from time to time, write about stocks in which they have a position. In such cases, appropriate disclosure is made. To see his personal portfolio and find out what trades Cramer will make before he makes them, sign up for Action Alerts PLUS by clicking here. While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to send comments on his column to [e-mail]. Listen to Cramer's RealMoney Radio show on your computer; just click here. Click here to buy Cramer's latest book, "You Got Screwed!" Click here to order Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict."