McG, Jefferson was nothing if not contradictory. He was a man who spent his life extolling the virtues of agrarian life and hated and was a failure at farming. He protested the idea of slavery and possessed slaves. He detested the idea of a strong federal government, yet presided over the largest expansion of United States territory in our history. I prefer to think of him as a visionary man of ideals who realized he fell short of them, but others have called him a hypocrite.
Greg F, I appreciate the reasoned restatement of your point of view. You are just saying I'm wrong, not ignorant, irresponsible, or evil, and that's what a good argument is about. ;>)