A son of the Haitian soil, Jean rose from poverty to world-renowned musician and philanthropist before the age of 40. While impressive, some don't think this qualifies him to become president.

The fact that Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere has often overshadowed the history of the resilient nation, which fought for, and won, its independence from the French, in 1804. The Haitian Revolution is considered a seminal moment in the history of Africans in the New World.

Haiti since then, has faced a multitude of obstacles --- lack of sustainable infrastructure, poor governance, poverty, massive debt to the IMF, and, more recently, the catastrophic earthquake earlier this year that killed hundreds of thousands of people and left the nation debilitated.

In the aftermath of this year's quake, a number of charitable organizations, such as the Red Cross and Jean's own Yele Haiti, raised funds to benefit the people of Haiti. Of the nearly $6 billion pledged, only half of that has been realized. Currently, a significant portion of the population is still residing in tents.

Clearly, Haiti is in need of some new leadership, someone who will lead a government that speaks to the needs and desires of the people as voiced by the people. Someone who is thinking long-term changes -- sustainable infrastructure, clean water access, jobs and so forth.

When asked what qualifies him to be president of Haiti, Jean stated that he represents the voice of the youth, who he said comprise 50 percent of the populous.

Jean ran down five pillars that he believes should apply to Haiti: education, job creation, agriculture, security and health care.

He asserted the importance of galvanizing Haitian people within the home base and also those living outside of the nation. Jean stated that he believes Haitians worldwide can help to rebuild the nation by wielding economic power.

Correspondent Wolf Blitzer, toward the end of the segment, finally got around to the question that is on many people's minds as of late: How can Jean manage the budget of an entire nation when he seemingly cannot manage his own personal finances or that of his nonprofit organization Yele Haiti?

Earlier this year, while raising of money in the aftermath of the earthquake, there were questions raised about whether Yele Haiti had misappropriated funds. Now, this week, in the midst of gaining momentum for a presidential run, it has been reported that Jean is owes more than $2 million in debt to the IRS.

How convenient.

Wyclef defended himself, stating, "We respect the IRS very much. I will not leave these United States of America and come to my country and not handle the situation with the IRS. Any personal Wyclef matters are being handled as we speak."

Penn, who has spent a lot of time in Haiti running a tent camp in Port-au-Prince through the J/P Haitian Relief Organization he co-founded, questioned Jean's motives, saying that Jean had not been a strong voice in Haiti as of recently.

Penn said that he wants to see a leader who is genuinely willing to sacrifice for Haiti and not one driven by corporate interests. I agree with Penn on that point.

Penn also chimed in about Jean's financial situation, stating, "His voice has really been most loudly that which allegedly has taken over $400,000 designated for Haitian relief for himself and claims he didn't do it. That has to be looked into."

If only such transparency could exist across the board for any organization and foreign government that is presently in Haiti doing work since the aftermath of the earthquake.

Only time will tell.

In the end, Haitians will exercise their voices in support for or against Wyclef's presidential campaign, and these voices are the ones we should be listening to.