On Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes tonight, conservative pundit Dick Morris tried to attack Barack Obama for being inexperienced on foreign policy, but in doing so, only managed to demonstrate his own idiocy. Morris argued that Joseph Biden would be a good vice presidential selection for Obama because Obama “does not know anything” about foreign policy.

To back up this claim, Morris asserted that Obama made a major mistake this week when he referenced the U.S.’s invasion of Iraq in the context of discussing Russia’s incursion into Georgia. Obama said, “We’ve got to send a clear message to Russia and unify our allies. They can’t charge into other countries. Of course it helps if we are leading by example on that point.” Asked by Alan Colmes what is wrong with Obama’s statement, Morris explained:

Where he’s wrong is that we went into Iraq at the invitation of the government, not as an invasion.

Colmes quickly rebutted him, stating, “We went into Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein.” Morris backtracked for a moment and said, “We are in Iraq now at the invitation of the government.” But seconds later, Morris repeated his false assertion:

We’re in Iraq as the result of a democracy asking for us to come in there. It’s not an invasion. It’s not a takeover. We’re not trying to annex Iraq.

Colmes again explained, “We went into Iraq originally — not at the invitation of Saddam Hussein’s government.” Watch it:

During the segment, Morris criticized Obama for “drawing a metaphor” between Georgia and Iraq. Colmes responded by noting it was John McCain who, despite having supported the Iraq invasion, made the bewildering statement that, “In the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations.” “Isn’t there a little disconnect there?” Colmes asked a confused Morris.

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In an AP article on how Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is supposedly a “rebel with a cause” who “chases the presidency,” former Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee (RI) says McCain “compromised his credibility” by shifting his position on issues in order to reach out to the right. Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE) agrees, saying that “he appears to be something different than what he was.”

But McCain dismisses any claims that he’s changed positions, telling the AP “in all due respect” that his former colleagues are “drinking the Kool-Aid“:

McCain bats away that notion.

“In all due respect to my colleagues,” he says, “They’re drinking the Kool-Aid that somehow I have changed positions on the issues. All I can say is that we all grow. We all grow wiser. And we all refine our positions.”

McCain points to his support for the surge in troops to Iraq, far from popular at its inception last year, as evidence he’s unafraid to swim against the tide.

McCain’s claim stretches all credibility. As Steve Benen has documented, McCain has flip-flopped at least 74 times over the years.

While some of his shifts may be an attempt to “grow” and “refine” his positions, many of his flip-flops were calculated moves to “placate the GOP right” in the course of his run for president:

TAXES: In 2001 and 2003, McCain opposed the Bush tax cuts, saying that they would “mostly benefit the wealthy.” But in 2006 he voted to extend them and now he wants to double them.

IMMIGRATION: In 2006, McCain sponsored immigration reform legislation with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), but in a January 2008 debate, he said that he “would not” vote for his own legislation.

ROE V. WADE: In 1999, McCain told reporters that he “would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade.” In 2006, McCain expressed his unequivocal support for overturning the decision.

OFFSHORE DRILLING: In 1999, when he first ran for president, McCain supported the moratorium on offshore drilling. In June 2008, however, he called for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling.

RADICAL RIGHT: In 2000, McCain declared Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell “agents of intolerance,” but in 2006 McCain said he no longer considers Falwell an “agent of intolerance.”

In reality, it seems like McCain is the one who drank the Kool-Aid about his own maverick persona.

On Fox News’ Your World, host Neil Cavuto defended John McCain’s inability to recall the number of homes he owns by attacking critics who have sought to highlight McCain’s failure. He opened the segment by asking, “Well, instead of slamming McCain, is Obama really bashing the American Dream?”

Fox News has it backwards. McCain’s remark is symbolically important because it suggests McCain is unable to relate to “the mortgage foreclosure crisis that has upended the American dream of owning even one home.” It also serves to highlight the fact McCain is running a campaign of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.

Earlier this week, MSNBC announced that Air America host Rachel Maddow will be getting her own show starting on Sept. 8. Responding to the news, The New Republic’s Sacha Zimmerman wrote that “the Dawn of Maddow” was indicative of how Americans are “refusing to acknowledge anything but spite, paranoia, and conspiracy theory when it comes to the other side.” Liberals across the blogosphere responded to Zimmerman’s claims in force. But in his Media Notes column today, the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz highlights only Zimmerman’s critique, not any of the pushback:

The news that Air America’s Rachel Maddow is getting her own MSNBC show draws only qualified praise from the New Republic’s Sacha Zimmerman.

As Glenn Greenwald argues, Kurtz and Zimmerman are buying into the absurd notion that “Liberalism is inherently shrill and unserious — even when advocated by a smart and sober commentator like Maddow.”