Blow-dried raver Chris Matthews told students at the University of Toronto that the United States is blinded by hatred, and that we have no enemies—just people with different perspectives. (Hat tip: Damian Penny.)

You can’t make up this kind of stuff.

Four years after 9/11 and the “crazy zeitgeist” that permeated the United States, most Americans have still not learned to know their enemies instead of just hating them, U.S. political journalist Chris Matthews says.

In a speech to political science students at the University of Toronto yesterday, the host of the CNBC current affairs show Hardball had plenty of harsh words for U.S. President George W. Bush, as well as the political climate that has characterized his country for the past few years.

“The period between 9/11 and Iraq was not a good time for America. There wasn’t a robust discussion of what we were doing,” Matthews said.

“If we stop trying to figure out the other side, we’ve given up. The person on the other side is not evil — they just have a different perspective.”