Human nature is far from perfection,
As is plain upon any inspection.
  Yet we'd like to demand
  Something close from the man
Who wins the presidential election.

Clinton clearly has shown indiscretion
Inappropriate for his profession.
  He has taken shellacking
  For morally lacking
And waffling throughout his confession.

So we learned to have low expectations
For the person in charge of our nation.
  Yet this trend, sad to say,
  Didn't start yesterday,
It's been happening since our foundation.

Our noble third president won
His presidency in 1801.
  From a farm called Shadwell
  Where he constantly dwelled
Came the man named Thomas Jefferson

First he joined the legislative line
In the House, 1769.
  As the youngest new member
  This moral defender
Found an odd position to opine.

He suggested the emancipation
Of the slaves forced into subjugation.
  But this liberal measure
  Would bring little pleasure
To the rich slave-owning population.

Jefferson himself would have lost slaves
But still stood by the bill which he gave.
  Yet the House voted no
  So the bill had to go
And Jefferson's "property" was saved.

Some say he liked his slaves too well,
From the stories that people now tell.
  This illustrious fellow
  While at Monticello
May have loved a slave that he could sell.

Sally Hemings was his house slave's name,
And one that may yet bring him shame.
  Since it might be reviled
  If they had a child,
Then Jefferson will take the blame.

Some new DNA testing has shown
That at least one black child was his own.
  So although he showed bravery
  To preach against slavery,
He did some things we shouldn't condone.

Yet these base misdeeds do not detract
From the great works which he did enact.
  His participation
  In the Declaration
of Independence was a fact.

And if that doesn't merit respect,
Here's one more large thing he did correct:
  He got Louisiana.

  So as top banana,
His achievements outweigh his defects.