Obama: It is possible for me to be a great admirer of George Washington and also acknowledge he was a slaveholder. And that does not negate his greatness. That simply acknowledges that there is a profound, deep flaw in these Founding Fathers, who were also geniuses and gave us these tools. Which is true of all of us, right? It's true of every president. We're this mixed bag. We've got contradictions and embody the country's contradictions. Source: MS NOW