It’s easy to forget, amid the boo-yahs, the bluster and the silly sound effects, that Jim Cramer (magna cum laude, Harvard 1977) is smarter than the average talking head on CNBC.

And having famously explained how, as a hedge fund manager, he could manipulate Apple’s (AAPL) share price by spreading false iPhone rumors, he redeemed himself somewhat in the eyes of Apple investors Monday by spending nearly four minutes running through the 10 criteria by which the stock became his No. 1 pick in what he calls “the ultimate growth portfolio for 2012 and beyond.”

The video and transcript are available here. The Apple segment begins at the 4:20 mark, but the first four minutes aren’t bad either.

We’ve posted a vodpod copy of the video below the fold.

[vodpod id=Video.16346825&w=425&h=350&fv=]