In a May 19 article headlined “Gender Issue Lives On as Clinton's Hopes Dim,” New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor noted that Sen. John McCain was asked by a voter at a South Carolina campaign event, “How do we beat the bitch?” in apparent reference to Sen. Hillary Clinton. But the article did not include McCain's response: "[T]hat's an excellent question." McCain then pointed to a Rasmussen poll that he said showed him beating Clinton in a head-to-head matchup, before adding: “I respect Senator Clinton. I respect anyone who gets the nomination of the Democrat [sic] Party."

Media Matters for America has previously documented several examples of print media failing to include McCain's description of the “bitch” question as “excellent.”

From the May 19 New York Times article:

Ms. Goodwin and others say Mrs. Clinton was able to convert the sexism she faced on the trail into votes and donations, extending the life of a candidacy that suffered a serious blow at the Iowa caucuses. Like so many women before, she was heckled (in New Hampshire, a few men told her to iron their shirts) and called nasty names (“How do we beat the bitch?” Senator John McCain was asked at one campaign event).

But the response may have been more powerful than the injury. In the days after Mrs. Clinton was criticized for misting up on the campaign trail, she won the New Hampshire primary and drew a wave of donations, many from women expressing indignation about how she had been treated.