Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Jumping Off the Panic Bandwagon (Final)

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- "It's time to unlearn the lessons of 2008," Jim Cramer told the viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Wednesday. He said it's time to think more positively and react more rationally to market downturns.

"When did panic become a trading strategy?" asked Cramer, as he pleaded with viewers to forget the past and turn over a new leaf. He said the lessons learned in the 2008 recession, mainly "shoot first, then shoot again," simply no longer apply to this market.

Cramer said that seven weeks ago, the market was predicting that all of Europe would cease to exist, and fall into financial oblivion. Yet just seven weeks later, companies like FedEx (FDX), VMWare (VMW) and Eaton (ETN), along with dozens of others have told us that things in Europe aren't so bad after all.

Cramer said the panic strategy worked for awhile in 2008, and investors needed to duck and run at every sign of weakness or risk being wiped out completely. But now, he said, the recession is over, and pullbacks are a time to buy, not a time to jump out the window.

Cramer admitted there are still lots of problems here in America, and the government's anti-business stance in favor of the little guy isn't helping the economy at large. Buy, he noted that while the U.S. economy is sluggish and will be for some time, there are a bunch of other countries around the globe that are doing much better. And it's those countries that are helping our companies report great earnings.

"The panic strategy is hurting us," Cramer told viewers, adding it's time to be more positive.