If He Were President, Ctd

Allyn Gaestel is in Port-au-Prince:

[Wyclef Jean] both referred to himself as Haiti's Obama and emphasized his Haitian identity; demonstrating the two sides of his early campaign's coin: to Haitians he speaks in Creole and talks about his Haitian passport; meanwhile, he uses his international profile and foreign connections for attention and protection. ...

CNN accompanied Jean on his private jet to Port-au-Prince, and the first stop on his arrival was a private residence in Petionville, a wealthy suburb of Port-au-Prince, where he met again with CNN, excluding an angry crowd of Haitian journalists. Later, when he spoke on Larry King Live, Jean said that he would not only be campaigning in Haiti because the whole world needs to be aware of the country and invested in this election. Some saw this as a troubling statement, given the centuries-old history of foreign involvement in Haitian politics, and complaints that the UN and international aid organizations are usurping Haiti's fragile autonomy.

Marjorie Valbrun, a Haitian-American journalist and huge fan of Wyclef, implores the singer to quit his campaign. The Hip Hop Republican lists his major weaknesses, including allegations of embezzlement.