By Mary Anastasia O’Grady at The WSJ
In the news from Haiti over the past two weeks, images of a grieving Bill Clinton have been almost as constant as the pictures of the earthquake victims themselves. Everywhere you look, the former president seems to appear—expressing his sorrow and pledging to make his foundation the cornerstone of a vast rebuilding effort.
When Mr. Clinton toured the devastation last week, the Miami Herald described him as "teary eyed." But teary eyed is a more apt description of how Haitians could end up if Mr. Clinton takes charge of Haiti's recovery, as it now appears he would like to do.
According to sources familiar with the issue, word has already gone out that Mr. Clinton has been unofficially designated by the multilateral aid community as the conduit through which anyone who wants to participate in the country's reconstruction will have to go. "That means," one individual told me, "if you don't have Clinton connections, you won't be in the game."
A person entrusted with this much power should have an impeccable track record. Mr. Clinton's record doesn't come close. Indeed, the last time he offered to "help" the country, he propped up a corrupt despot who proceeded to go into business with key Democrats and left the country poorer, institutionally bereft and riddled with political violence…
The upshot here is that clintonista activity in Haiti was not the work of foreigners deeply committed to the well-being of a long-suffering people. Instead, it capitalized on the chance to make money using government power.
Now is time to break that habit. As one Haitian told me, if the country is ever to develop it needs "to rely less on cronyism and more on transparency and the vast resources of the Haitian expat community." That would disqualify Bill Clinton. Read more…
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