Does Thomas Paine himself not qualify as a 'founding father'? "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in

Does Thomas Paine himself not qualify as a 'founding father'? "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain.” --John Adams [1] Whenever I see arguments rooted in the founder's intent, I always wonder exactly which founding fathers the arguer will choose. In truth the people who might qualify as 'founding fathers' had a wide variety of political opinions. Perhaps the only unifying trait was that they were able to compromise to get things done. I'm hoping your comment was purposeful hyperbole... [1]: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/10/16/061016crbo_books http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/10/16/061016crbo_books (via Wikipedia)