Morris on Clinton's purported religious beliefs: "[T]he ends fully justify the means"

On the January 23 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Sean Hannity featured Fox News political analyst Dick Morris to discuss Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) chances of becoming president in 2008. Morris agreed with Hannity's assertion that Clinton "can win," but he spent much of his time attacking her character, including what he claimed were her religious beliefs. Asserting that Clinton "has a deep-seated ideal of a liberal, nanny, socialist state" and "believes that it's a religious commitment," Morris purported to reveal that Clinton "feels the ends fully justify the means" and that she "consciously and deliberately is phony, manipulative, artificial, contrived, and she believes it is her duty to do that so that she can accomplish her objectives that she thinks are God's work."

Earlier in the segment, Morris claimed that she wears "a complete mask, a complete opposite of who she is."

Hannity concluded the segment by stating, "That's great insight and analysis, and I hope people are hearing you. Thank you, my friend."

As Media Matters for America noted, according to syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, Morris is seeking contributions "to finance a critical film documentary of Sen. Hillary Clinton." According to Novak, in a mailing sent out by The Presidential Coalition, a group run by Republican activist and discredited former congressional staffer David Bossie, Morris wrote: "If you liked how the Swift Boat Veterans turned the tide against John Kerry, you understand how a top Clinton aide can turn the tables and stop a Clinton-style liberal from becoming the next president of the United States."

From the January 23 edition of ABC Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show:

MORRIS: You know, the thing is, every politician uses makeup, but Hillary's the only one that wears a mask.

HANNITY: Ouch.

MORRIS: Because, basically, every politician touches up their blemishes and doesn't let them show in public. Every politician conceals in public, you know, all of his personality. But Hillary wears a complete mask, a complete opposite of who she is.

[...]

HANNITY: But she can win, you believe that she -- odds are on that she is the next president of the United States.

MORRIS: Yes, I do. I believe that Hillary -- and I'll be glad to talk about that, but can I finish answering your question about what she's like first.

HANNITY: Sure.

MORRIS: She has a deeply -- she's an idealist, Sean. She has a deep-seated ideal of a liberal, nanny, socialist state -- it's what she believes ought to happen. She believes that it's a religious commitment. She believes that Christ was in favor of helping the poor, and she once said, how could anyone be a Republican and a Christian at the same time? She has the certitude of her own rectitude that all deeply religious people have. The problem is that most deeply religious people are religious both as to goals and as to means. They say, "My spirituality means I have to do good things, and I have to do good for good things -- I can't go out and do horrible things for good things because that's a violation of the way you've gotta act." She doesn't see that. She feels the ends fully justify the means, and therefore, she consciously and deliberately is phony, manipulative, artificial, contrived, and she believes it is her duty to do that so that she can accomplish her objectives that she thinks are God's work.

HANNITY: That's a pretty frightening scenario that you're outlining here.

MORRIS: I am.

[...]

HANNITY: That's great insight and analysis, and I hope people are hearing you. Thank you, my friend.

—M.B.B.