Where Have You Gone, Thomas Jefferson?

(This is a little outside the usual purview of my blog, so humor me.)

Pondering the recent constitutional logjam in Iraq, I thought, "If we (America) had to draft a new constitution today, could we do it?" We would experience far more difficulty than Iraq, I think. Can you imagine the weight of the task? Do we possess men and women of the required calibur? There would be infinite squabbling among lawyers. The politicking! The cultural and religious diversity would be paralyzing.

My point is this: America no longer has the intellectual prowess, the shared mores, or the noble spirit necessary for such a great undertaking. Can these things be recovered? Does this say something about where we have come as a nation?