On the October 3 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, chief national correspondent John King asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for his reaction to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) Senate floor statement calling on senators “to join in condemning [Rush] Limbaugh's attack on our troops" -- a reference to Limbaugh's September 26 comments characterizing service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq as “phony soldiers.” McCain responded: “I did issue a statement saying that I thought it was inappropriate, and perhaps Mr. Limbaugh didn't mean it but he should not have said it.”

As Media Matters for America documented, McCain issued the following statement on September 28 in response to Limbaugh's “phony soldiers” comments:

Any American who risks his or her life to defend us has earned the respect and gratitude of every American citizen, irrespective of their views on this war. If Mr. Limbaugh made the remark he is reported to have made, it reflects very poorly on him and not the objects of his offensive comment. I expect most Americans, whatever their political views, will have the same reaction. He would be well advised to retract it and apologize.

From the October 3 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:

KING: Another dust-up in recent days has been Harry Reid, the Democratic leader -- the majority leader in the Senate -- going to the floor, demanding an apology from Rush Limbaugh over a remark calling some soldiers who have served who have been critical of the war “phony soldiers.” Now Rush says he's being taken out of context, that he was criticizing one particular person who lied about serving in Iraq.

McCAIN: I'm a little disturbed about bringing that aspect into the political arena, but they are citizens and they have the right to vote obviously. But, on the issue, I don't know exactly about what the back and forth between Senator Reid and Rush Limbaugh -- I did issue a statement saying that I thought it was inappropriate, and perhaps Mr. Limbaugh didn't mean it but he should not have said it. I also criticized the ad on General [David] Petraeus. I also criticized the attack on [Sen.] John Kerry's [D-MA] record. I also criticized the attack on [former Sen.] Max Cleland's [D-GA] record. So I'm -- I regret that people are in any way criticized or assaulted because of their service in the military.