Wyclef Jean For President of Haiti?

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Wyclef Jean may have his eye on a the Haitian presidency; photo credit: christopherharte"][/caption]

We know that Wyclef Jean has the musical chops due to his success with "The Fugees" and his current success as a solo artist. But according to 9News, Jean - who is 37, and who came to America as a child - is said to be contemplating running for the Presidency of Haiti.

Anyone who has watched the news program 60 Minutes knows that the singer is much loved in his native Haiti – the crowds that surrounded Mr. Jean when he visited during the aftermath of the recent tragic earthquake was a testament of his popularity among the Haitian people, especially the young.

Mr. Jean has maintained his loyalty to his native country, via his charity, Yele Haiti Foundation, since 2005. His uncle, Raymond Alcide Joseph, is also the current ambassador to the United States.

Mr. Jean has not expressly said that he is running, but when questioned, he did not say it wasn’t so either, It is ok to be loved as an entertainer, by the Haitian people, but its is quite another thing to get involve with the rough and tumble politics of Haiti. I have no doubt that he wants to do right by his country, but heavy lies the crown when one’s really sees what must be done and the many constituents vying for power – sometimes malignantly.

He also has had some controversy himself; he was accused, as recently as last year, of allegedly bilking his charity of the funds he received from donors. The specific claim was that Mr. Jean was charging his charity inordinate fees to perform or make appearances on behalf of his own organization, the Yele Haiti Foundation.

I commend Mr. Jean if indeed he is going to seek the presidency of his native Haiti – I hope that he cannot be bribed since he is independently wealthy. But we all know that no man is an island and we cannot be certain about the men who will be in Mr. Jean’s cabinet if he is elected.

What of the Haitian army, which is rumored to wield much of the power? How is Mr. Jean going to rein them in… if they are indeed venal, as rumored? Perhaps, Mr. Jean should seek the counsel of fellow artist Vaclav Havel, who ruled the Czech Republic – he also opined that it was much easier to write his essays than to govern.