[goat granny]

The founding fathers were for a weak centralized government...

[TexasFreeper2009]

nobody wants a weak government, just a smaller, more effective (at what it’s constitionally suppose to do and nothing else), less intrusive one.

[GraceG]

[ The founding fathers were for a weak centralized government... ]

Weak in what it could dictate to the states and citizenry, but strong on protecting the states as a whole from foreign powers.

I like the term “Limited” rather than “Weak” because limited is what it cannot do. Wheras weak implies it cannot do or enforce anythign or even protect itself.

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

Definitely they wanted a weak one in the sense that it wouldn't have anywhere near the powers today's government has usurped. Also known as limited. There is no way that today's government can in any way claim to be a legitimate heir of the one the founders created. As Madison said in the Federalist, "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite."
The States having more powers than the federal government? Who today can imagine this? Yet the tenth amendment clearly lays it out. Yet the States today have become the docile pets of the federal monster, rarely daring to challenge it, even when it does things unconstitutional (which is all the time now)...The states (and the courts) should have acted as the watchdogs of liberty for the people, yet they mostly have stood idly by as the government feasted itself upon the freedoms of citizens, and like a glutton grabbing more and more power for itself. Yes, we claim to have a Constitution, but for the most part it is void. To the extent that the government even tries to justify its many illegitimate acts it usually cites the elastic clause, which the founders never dreamed would be so abused. So depressing.