receives word of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti,
cancels her trip, flies back to D.C., meets with the president and high-level cabinet members,
and leaves the next day for Haiti with supplies,
at the request of the Haitian president,
speaks directly to the Haitian people,
and their own president does NOT?
Haiti’s absent leader ‘doesn’t like to talk at all’
Hillary Clinton was the first high official on the ground in Haiti after the earthquake. Part of her mission was to assure the Haitian people that the people of the United States were sending help in the form of money for relief and reconstruction, military personnel for reconstruction and distribution of supplies as well as security, and extended governmental assistance and NGO help, but that we were NOT occupying and taking over Haiti (as we once did from July, 1915 to August, 1934).
President Préval does nothing to reinforce this message and purpose for her trip by abdicating the public podium. Hillary Clinton spoke to the people of Haiti. They need to hear from their own president, the guy they elected, because Hillary Clinton has made it clear, she is doing all she can to help, but she is not the President of Haiti.
