Good Morning America's John Berman on Tuesday again proved his
ability to be crude, adding a zipper sound effect to a quote by Ann
Romney. Sounding like a fifth grade boy, Berman derided the wife of the
presidential candidate, insisting that "unexpected comments from Ann Romney...just begged to be taken out of context."
Berman played a clip of Mrs. Romney on a radio show in which she
rebutted claims that her husband is "stiff," replying, "I guess we
better unzip him and let the real Mitt Romney out." Immediately
following this, ABC played a zipper sound.
Now, while GMA and Berman
found time for juvenile humor, there was no mention of President Obama's
attack on the Supreme Court. [MP3 audio here.]
On Monday, Obama warned
the "unelected" Supreme Court not to strike down his signature health
care bill, what some are calling a move to intimidate the court. Yet,
GMA found no time for this non-zipper related story.
Berman has a history of school yard style humor when it comes to presidential stories. On April 18, 2011,
he made several penis jokes about Donald Trump and his "big,"
enormous," "size." (The piece was actually about Trump's wealth.)
A transcript of the April 3 segment, which aired at 7:09am EDT, follows:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We're going to turn now to politics and what
could be a decisive day in the race for the White House. GOP primaries
in Maryland, D.C. and Wisconsin. And all signs point to a sweep for Mitt
Romney. Will that lock up the Republican nomination once and for all?
That's the question in today's your voice, your vote, with ABC's John
Berman. Good morning, John.
JOHN
BERMAN: Good morning, George. You know, overnight, ABC News learned
that the Romney campaign will begin raising money for the general
election and alongside the Republican Party. Proof that the party
insiders believe the contest today will finally, completely, totally,
once and for all, without a doubt, thoroughly and conclusively, mark the
absolute, final last end of this primary campaign. Probably. Mitt
Romney's body is in Wisconsin. But his mind, very much on Washington.
MITT ROMNEY: We understand something I think this President and Vice
President don't. And that is that their policies have not succeeded.
BERMAN: He so badly wants these primaries to be done, finished, over.
And as he wracks up endorsement after endorsement, after endorsement, it
seems much of the establishment does, too. But so far, they can't rid
themselves of that nagging sensation, known as Rick Santorum. Santorum
is not going quietly. Rolling more than150 bowling balls and rolling out
a new negative ad.
RICK SANTORUM AD: What if I tell you the man I'm talking about isn't him? [Picture of Obama.] It's him. [Picture of Romney.]
BERMAN: And Romney continues to face unexpected curve balls. A tense exchange about his Mormon faith.
MAN: Do you believe it's a sin for a white man to marry and procreate with a black woman?
MITT ROMNEY: No. Next question.
BERMAN: Unexpected zingers, from Mad Men. Betty's husband with a broadside on Mitt's father, then the governor of Michigan.
MAD MAN CLIP: Well, tell Jim His Honor's not going to Michigan.
[Pause] Because Romney's a clown and I don't want him standing next to
him.
BERMAN: Romney's son Tagg tweeted, "Seriously? Liberal media mocking
my dead grandpa?" Finally, unexpected comments from Ann Romney in a
radio interview that just begged to be taken out of context.
RADIO HOST: Do you have to fight back some criticism? Like, my husband isn't stiff, okay?
ANN ROMNEY: I guess we better unzip him and let the real Mitt Romney out. [ABC adds zipper sound.]
JOHN BERMAN: Now, as Katie would say, woo, it's getting hot in here.
It's not his zipper that the campaign is thinking about. It's his
pockets. By raising money alongside the Republican Party, it means the
Romney team can bring in $50,000 per person toward the general election.
George?
KATIE COURIC: Oh, boy. I'll bet Ann Romney is doing a real Homer
Simpson this morning. D'oh. And she wishes she could take it back. You
don't think so?
STEPHANOPOULOS: No, I'm not so sure and I think it's a risk they're
willing to take. You know, she's basically their best weapon right now.
Because the big problem coming out of these primaries is people don't
know him. They don't feel an emotional connection to him. Anything, that
can humanize him I think is going to help.
COURIC: And she's supposed to be a great campaigner.
STEPHANOPOULOS: She's great. We'll see a lot more of her in the coming weeks and months.
COURIC: Meanwhile, how is the Republican Party, you guys- I have two
great political minds sitting next to me- How is it going to be unified
after such a contentious primary season? Does it happen naturally or are
there-
STEPHANOPOULOS: I think so.
COURIC: Or are the factions going to be infighting still?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, you saw all the, so many top Republicans last
week trying to say this is over. Let's get the nomination fight over.
But I think what they're banking on, is that once it's a clear fight
against President Obama, President Obama will be the one that unifies
the Republican Party.
COURIC: Right and he started his ads against Mitt Romney yesterday, right?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Started yesterday. First time he named them.
-- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
