Tyler Cowen thinks addressing the situation in Haiti may be Obama's most daunting task yet:
Obama now stands a higher chance of being a one-term President. Foreign aid programs are especially unpopular, especially relative to their small fiscal cost. Have you noticed how Rush Limbaugh and others are already making their rhetoric uglier than usual? It will be a test of the American populace; at what point will people start whispering that he is "favoring the other blacks"?
Just as it's not easy to pull out of Iraq or Afghanistan, it won't be easy to pull out of Haiti.
And Haiti is about as unreformable a place as Afghanistan. Owning it would be an act of insanity. Yes, we need to help provide immediate aid. But no: there is no way we can or should try to remake another failed country. At least not until we have reformed our own broken political system and fragile economy.
The Dish 