This is not to excuse him, but simply to recognize the prior necessity of criticizing the system in which he was embedded.
Most people of his class at that time were far more conservative than he, far less willing to even give a second thought to the issues he struggled with. Hence they didn't set down their thoughts, and so Jefferson stands out as an easy target. But if you take the system itself -- from substructure to superstructure -- as the starting-point of your critique, then Jefferson will appear far more realistically.
For all his flaws, the Abolitionists fought mightily to raise the stature of the Declaration of Independence which had previously been relatively neglected. They recognized it as a powerful document to use on their behalf. The Popular Front attitude toward Jefferson followed this example.
And of course, Niles is quite mistaken about the Popular Front vis-a-vis race. Or perhaps he's never heard of Scottsboro?
-- Paul Rosenberg Reason and Democracy rad at gte.net
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