As a devout, 1911 loyalist, I have to agree with sholling. I like my guns to have thumb safeties and I don't use their presence as an excuse for poor firearm handling and/or lack of training.
That being said, I just bought an M&P45 without the thumb safety. But I don't have any intention of carrying it. I had first set out to buy one with the safety, but all the reports of it lacking a positive engagement, coupled with the price (420) and immediate availability, I decided to go with this one. So, in this instance, I'm okay with it not having a thumb safety.
Like I said, it's not going to be a carry gun, I'm not going to have an absurdly light trigger job done, etc. In other words, I don't expect this to be a 1911. If I expected another 1911, I would have bought another 1911.
Chevy