What to Buy in the Dow

When I arrived at my worst-case view that the Dow could reach 5320, my first reaction wasn't, "Look out below." It was more like, "Wait a second, how much I would like to buy these stocks at those levels?" Then I started thinking, "What do I do if it gets there and I am not in? Will it stay down there? Is it right to avoid a market that's cut by almost two-thirds in such a short period of time when some companies with really good earnings power might be selling at prices that we might never see again?"

But which ones?

Certainly not the under-$5 crowd -- Alcoa (AA - commentary - Cramer's Take), Bank of America (BAC - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Citigroup (C - commentary - Cramer's Take). Pass on ABC because you have to bet that Citigroup isn't AIG (AIG - commentary - Cramer's Take), that Alcoa isn't the old Asarco and that Bank of America can't stanch the bleeding caused by Tim Geithner's indecision, which is allowing the ProShares UltraShort Financials (SKF - commentary - Cramer's Take) to destroy the stock.

No, I like eight of them, eight that I would be buying right here. If you buy in quarters -- 25 shares per 100 you want owned -- you'll need to start today.

The first is interchangeable because of the price, AT&T (T - commentary - Cramer's Take) at $20 or Verizon (VZ - commentary - Cramer's Take) at $23. Why? Certainly not growth; there won't be all that much because of the recession. However, they have so much cash flow and they can slow deployment of expensive equipment -- yes, even with Verizon's FiOS -- to the point where a dividend boost will take them to about 8%, a level that Altria (MO - commentary - Cramer's Take), the best-performing stock in the S&P 100, shows can withstand the onslaught. Verizon has a tad more growth because of FiOS, but it could cut both ways in a severe slowdown as the FiOS build-out will cost them.

Caterpillar (CAT - commentary - Cramer's Take) at $18 is just too juicy. I think that it will be like CAT in 1985 when it sold down low on a weakened balance sheet and a war with labor. The company has much more wherewithal now. This is still the single best machinery company in the world, and I think that if you abandon it at $18 you are simply betting that things will never come back. That's a difficult bet to make because, if it has to, CAT can move the whole shebang overseas to where the markets are heating up again or recovering.

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Jim Cramer is co-founder and chairman 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. Watch Cramer on "Mad Money" weeknights on CNBC. To order Cramer's newest book -- "Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer)," click here. Click here to order "Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich," click here to order "Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World," click here to get "You Got Screwed!" and click here for Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict." While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he appreciates your feedback and invites you to send comments by clicking here.

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