Don't Get Wrecked by the Homebuilders

You get in front of the Toll Brothers (TOL - commentary - Cramer's Take) freight train. I can't.

You decide Lennar (LEN - commentary - Cramer's Take) is going down. I can't.

I can't be in the crosshairs of the Fed. I don't know why people think it is a nifty place to be. To me Toll Brothers is, for lack of a better analogy, the Amazon (AMZN - commentary - Cramer's Take) of this era.

I know, that's a fanciful, hyperbolic example. Amazon wasn't making any money and went straight up for years. Toll is making tons of money. Amazon's CEO was a great stock manager. The Tolls are not.

But the Fed was horrified in 2000 about Amazon's stock course. It is equally horrified by Toll Brothers' stock price. It won't declare the victory we need until Toll has a shortfall.

That's why I keep talking about playing defense. Procter & Gamble (PG - commentary - Cramer's Take). Altria (MO - commentary - Cramer's Take). Pepsi (PEP - commentary - Cramer's Take). That's why I don't want to be drawn into the housing battleground. I just can't. There are tons of stocks that aren't really in the crosshairs of the Fed. Why do I need to be in the very stocks that I think Greenspan's targeting?

Just something to think about.

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At the time of publication, Cramer was long Altria.

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. 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. Watch Cramer on "Mad Money" at 6 p.m. ET weeknights on CNBC. Click here to order Cramer's latest book, "Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World," click here to get his second book, "You Got Screwed!" and click here to order Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict."