First we had the Vero Possumus seal, and then the Barackopolis.  One might have thought that Team Obama would have learned their lesson on hubris and self-absorption, but a deal with a British firm goes even farther.  Democrats have begun striking coins with Barack Obama’s profile — and already proclaiming him President:

The coins already sold to the Democrats will be presented to the senators, congressmen, governors and other politicians they are being given to within the next two weeks.

There will also be a television advertising campaign launched in the US.

The company directors got the idea of producing the coins after seeing actress Meryl Streep talking about Barack Obama on a television programme.

When they got in touch with the Democrats the party jumped at the chance. And the coins have proved such a hit that locally produced versions have already been launched to compete with the UK originals.

The coins show Senator Obama’s face, along with a picture of the White House and the legend “President of the United States of America”.

Apparently, the coin does not include the new motto of the United States: Vero Possumus.  Instead, it declares Obama President, well ahead of when Americans get to make that choice.  If that seems rather presumptuous, it only appears that way to those who have not watched the cult of personality grow over the last few months.

Julius Caesar was the first Roman to put his image on coins, which started his downfall.  Barack Obama may be the first person in history to start striking coins in his image before taking power.  Maybe he just wants to look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills, but this is starting to get … creepy.