Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Jean Bertrand Aristide for President of the US
Ridiculous, right?
Aristide is a foreigner, doesn't really understand the US, doesn't have a constituency here and, just by the by, is forbidden by law to run.
So, why is Bushco trying to run an American for Haiti's president?
The prospect of a candidate for the Haitian presidency holding a US passport has caused an uproar in the troubled, impoverished Caribbean nation as it heads for landmark elections. Dumarsais Simeus is campaigning to become head of state despite the opposition of the interim government and receiving threats as he seeks votes from the public.
Now, it's my interpretation that Simeus is the Bushco candidate. The real situation is convoluted:
Haiti's electoral council banned Simeus from taking part in the election, saying candidates could not have dual nationality. But the supreme court overturned the decision. Interim prime minister Gerard Latortue highlighted during a visit last month by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Haiti's law states that "foreigners" could not hold an elected office....Boniface Alexandre, the interim president, has also vowed to make sure that foreign nationals do not stand in the election.
This puts most of the bad guys against Simeus, so it's tempting to think that his campaign of a chicken in every santeria ceremony represents a positive step (um, this was a joke, if that's not obvious). But with Haiti spinning out of control, with the Organization of American States furious that gangsters like Latortue and Guy dePhilippe are in charge, Simeus sounds like just the sort of person Bushco would want.
And if I'm wrong, if he is legit, maybe he should run for US President. Even if he were a Tonton Macoute, he can't be worse than the one we've got.
More blogs about politics.
