1937 HOURS, APRIL 4, 2011

I have just come back from a short drive around the streets of Petionville and part of the downtown area of Port-au-Prince. We also tried to go up the hill to Michel Martelly’s house in Peguyville but tens of thousands, waving Martelly posters and cheering, blocked the roads.  The mood is wildly happy and enthusiastic, as the people cheer Martelly.

But think what the same crowd would have done, had MINUSTAH, the OAS and our State Department cheated them out of their choice. The thought is frightening.

Michel Martelly now has an opportunity to make his mark as the man who pulls Haiti bank from the brink.

Our best wishes are with him, and his team, as they take on an overwhelming, perhaps impossible challenge.

Collins