Hillary's Dumb Idea: Americans Should Empathize With Our Enemies

In a speech to a half-empty auditorium at Georgetown University that her spin doctors would undoubtedly describe as half-full, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have sealed her presidential ambitions.

At the very least, she raised serious questions about her fitness to be Commander-in-Chief.

She's dangerous. We need to keep her far, far away from that Oval Office.

In a momentous statement, she called on Americans to "understand" and "empathize" with the "perspective and point of view" of our enemies, helping to "define the problems, determine the solutions." She said "Smart Power" left "no one on the sidelines" and used "every possible tool and partner to advance peace and security." Clinton even called for "respect" for our enemies.

How crazy is this? Clinton's "Smart Power" is nothing but a dumb idea.

She sounded like a new age philosopher about to belt out a line from The Age of Aquarius at a 60's peace rally. You could almost hear the words:

"Then peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars."

But the fact is she was apparently serious about her ridiculous proposal.

Perhaps we should ask her which of our enemies she would have us "empathize with? ISIS, who beheads reporters on the internet? Iran, who tortures and kills thousands of political dissidents every year and foments terrorism? Or North Korea that starves its own people to death? How about Assad who gases them? Putin who boldly annexes his neighbors by force, ignoring international law?

Are we supposed to actually ponder — alongside Hamas and Hezbollah — about how evil Jews are and then seek to "define the problems, determine the solutions?"

Should we respect terrorists because they are unhappy with the world?

How about Hitler? Should we have sought to enlist him as a "partner to advance peace and security?" Neville Chamberlain thought so.

And how can we possibly "understand…the perspective and point of view" of an enemy like Osama bin Laden? Should we channel him (as Hillary once did Eleanor Roosevelt) and engage in a dialogue about our faults, our unforgivable imperialism? Should we try to imagine and feel the depth of his hatred for Americans? And then what? Should we announce our forgiveness once we understand his twisted thinking? And should we show compassion to Al Qaeda and invite them in from the sidelines once we show them our respect?

What about the terrorists who killed Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi? Do they too deserve our full empathy and understanding? Think about it. They despised Americans. Can we take a deep breath, as Hillary loves to say, and feel their pain, their alienation, their hatred of us?

Will Hillary channel Syrian President Assad's inner feelings about the need to gas and exterminate his own people? Should we attempt to stand in his shoes and appreciate the depth and sincerity of his beliefs?

And what is the end result of this asinine exercise? That we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya?

Let's take her inane idea a step further. Try, for a moment, to imagine an American President calling for all Americans to respect and understand the perspective of Al Qaeda after it attacked us and murdered 3000 innocent people in the Twin Towers.

It's inconceivable. But that's what she is talking about.

It's become obvious: Hillary should not be President. She cannot speak as she does and pretend to be able to be the protector of this nation.

Her statement is particularly scary because she implicitly rejects the idea of evil and the use of force. How can you empathize with someone when you are sending troops to kill them?

What's gotten into her? This woman who maintains the largest, most comprehensive, expansive, and growing list of personal and political enemies of any American political figure? Who dug up blackmail material on her husband's mistresses to cow them into silence? Now she wants us to be forgiving, respectful, and compassionate to our enemies. Has she ever been?

She's gone over the top. Think back to her incomprehensible 1993 call for the "politics of meaning," which had no meaning whatsoever.

Part of what she was trying to do at Georgetown was appeal to the liberal Foreign Service establishment. But that's just a part of it. She actually believes her own blabber.

She's gone European on us, embracing the "soft power" pushed by a European continent that has never recovered its nerve after two world wars. She seems to be advocating helplessness as a policy asset — a strategy for dealing with enemies best exemplified by cute gold retrievers (like Dubs) who roll over to have their bellies rubbed when threatened by danger.

Her ideas are not fit for an American president or even an aspirant for our highest office. Her ridiculous imputation of good faith and respect for the tortured anti-American terrorist-enemies who behead infidels is naive to the point of idiocy.

You're in over your head, Hillary. Go home. Channel Obama in the privacy of your own home.

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Dick Morris, who served as adviser to former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and former President Clinton, is the author of 16 books, including his latest, Screwed and Here Come the Black Helicopters.