McCain Says Supporter's "Bitch" Query About Hillary Is "An Excellent Question"

Posted by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report at 3:00 PM on November 13, 2007.

This post, written by Steve Benen, originally appeared on The Carpetbagger Report

Obviously, presidential candidates aren't responsible for comments made by their supporters. Candidates are, however, responsible for showing a little class. It's apparently something that John McCain has forgotten.

At a campaign event in South Carolina, a McCain backer stood up to ask the senator, "How do we beat the bitch?"

In response, McCain said, "We have our differences with our Democratic rivals, but I believe in treating people with respect. It's why I don't refer to women as 'bitches,' even when I disagree with them. I'm sure all of us believe we can debate the serious issues of the day without name-calling and degrading language."

No, no, I'm just kidding. He actually responded, "That's an excellent question."

Just this morning, the NYT's David Brooks wrote a gushing love-letter to McCain, praising him as an honorable man of character. If there wasn't so much evidence to the contrary, it might be persuasive.

For readers who can't watch clips online, here's a transcript:

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: How do we beat the bitch? (Laughter)

Mccain: May I give the translation? (Laughter) That's an excellent question.

You might know that there was a poll yesterday -- a Rasmussen poll, to identify it -- that shows me three points ahead of Sen. Clinton is a head-to-head match-up. (Applause)

I respect Sen. Clinton; I respect anyone who gets the nomination of the Democrat [sic] Party....

Yes, McCain couldn't even be gracious about his political opponents without using the grammatically wrong "Democrat Party."

I suppose the natural response from McCain backers is that he didn't want to repudiate a campaign supporter during an event. But just a few days ago, McCain repudiated his own mother, on national television, when she made anti-Mormon comments about Mitt Romney. He went out of his way to make clear -- twice -- that he didn't agree with his mother's remarks.

But when confronted with a supporter who calls Hillary Clinton a "bitch," McCain thinks that's "excellent."

Stay classy, John McCain.

Tagged as: election08, mccain, hillary clinton, romney

Steve Benen is a freelance writer/researcher and creator of The Carpetbagger Report. In addition, he is the lead editor of Salon.com's Blog Report, and has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Crooks & Liars, The American Prospect, and the Guardian.