How amazing were our founding fathers?

I recently purchased Mark Levin's The Liberty Amendments and began reading it today. It's a surprisingly heavy read only because Levin copiously quotes from the founding fathers in each chapter as his point is to bring us back, as a country, to the principles and core values set out in the Constitution.

Having been out of school since the 70s, my remembrance of the writings of those who founded the country is hazy at best. It's been funny to read this much of them again and I'm struck by how articulate and well spoken they come across.

And . . . is it prescience? Or is the world always headed in the same direction with mankind occasionally fighting like mad to turn to a different course?

In the section on term limits, Levin quotes Benjamin Franklin from James Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 and I excerpt some of that here:

"And of what kind are the men that will strive for this profitable pre-eminence...It will be the bold and the violent, the men of strong passions and indefatigable activity in their selfish pursuits. These will thrust themselves into your Government and be your rulers...there is a natural inclination in mankind to Kingly Government. It sometimes relieves them from Aristocratic domination. They had rather have one tyrant than five hundred. It gives more of the appearance of equality among Citizens, and that they like. I am apprehensive therefore, perhaps too apprehensive, that the Government of these States, may in future times, end in a Monarchy."

When we look at the current administration, with our supposed Constitutional scholar at the helm . . . you could fill web page after web page with Obama's disregard for, and blatant violation of, the very document he was sworn to uphold. Over two hundred years ago, the founders saw this coming. We consider ourselves so evolved, so much more intelligent and advanced than those who came and fought and died to create this country and yet we cannot see what's happening right before our eyes.

But they suspected it. Way back then. Like I said -- it's either simply amazing that they suspected this would come and put in place mechanisms to protect us and the country from falling, or it's pathetic that we have failed to appreciate what was given us and have headed down the predictable path to disaster.