Cuddle up with Obama.

As we saw when the Phillies won the World Series, everything is for sale. Commemorative items up the yinyang were made "celebrating" the Phils' dramatic post-season run. You aren't a fan if you don't have a World Series flag for your car or a set of pint glasses with the logo.

For the record (as if it matters) I have a hat that says "2008 World Champions." That's it. I was at the games. I'll remember just fine.

Now, the consumer suck-fest has set its sights on Barack Obama's inauguration. The fine gang at QVC are leading the way. Surprised?

Among the items QVC has been selling since the election are a Barack Obama stamp collection, with stamps from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Grenada, St. Vincent and The Grenadines ($38.88). One set has an Obama-Biden half dollar coin and a 1939 stamp depicting George Washington taking the first oath of office ($23.75). An Obama throw blanket is marked down from $41 to $36.84.

Try to spend that Biden half dollar and let me know how it goes.

What a shame they had to mark-down the throw. They're probably still making $34.84 on the thing. If you try to use it, I'd bet it won't last as long as his presidency.

A gold presidential pocket watch with Obama's image will sell for $90. A coin and stamp set commemorating Martin Luther King Day and Obama's inauguration is $20. And QVC will also sell a portfolio of newspaper front pages from inauguration day.

Sure, you want all of that junk because you're likely to forget all about it if you don't buy something, and you never know when you'll have to mail a letter in Liberia.

ShopNBC is offering Obama coin sets and throw blankets. The New York Times Store offers framed photographs, a framed copy of the front page announcing Obama's election victory and an Obama jigsaw puzzle.

Well, nothing says "patriotism" like a nice puzzle. Forgive me, but the whole thing sounds crass and classless. My first impression is that people like QVC are taking advantage of history for their own benefit.

With all the stupid laws we have in this country, you'd think that it would be illegal to sell doctored coins or a useless stamp with the image of the president while he's still alive and in office - or dead for that matter. I could list a half dozen things that we do have laws against that are dumber than that, believe me.

POINT OF ORDER: Few things are less collectible than something that proclaims itself to be "collectible" on the package. Sometimes, it will say it's a "Limited Edition." That's a vague term, because it's limited to the amount of them that they can sell.

This is another one of those things that, to me, is like art. I know art when I see it. I know when retailers are taking advantage of people. I can't imagine someone sitting on their sofa thinking, "Boy, it's cold in here. I wish I had a Barack Obama throw blanket to keep me warm."

"Hey mom, where's that Joe Biden half dollar? I need to buy some Liberian stamps."

"Let's gather around the fire and put that Obama jigsaw puzzle together. His ears are three pieces."

You get the idea.

The reason I don't like it is because I think certain things and people should be above such nonsense, and the President is certainly on that list. If you want to put Elvis Presley on your pet's food dish and write "Hound Dog" on the side, go ahead. He was an entertainer, that's how he made his money. Being president is supposed to stand for something, and I'm pretty sure it isn't painted coins or a forty-dollar Liberian stamp collection.

Pardon me for being a wet blanket.