NEW TECHNOLOGY

It seems like the setup to a bad joke: What do Chia pets, Marvel comics, and condoms have in common?

How's "the president of the United States" for a punch line?

Barack Obama has barely settled into the White House, and already he's generated an economic stimulus by sparking what feels like one of the only growth sectors in the economy: Obamabilia. "I have never, ever, ever, ever seen this," says Barry H. Landau, presidential historian and author of the upcoming The President's Inauguration: 200 Years of an American Pageant. Landau, who tracks presidential memorabilia and owns 1.2 million items himself, estimates that Obama has four times as many products devoted to him as any past president.

No official figures are available, but an eBay search for "Barack Obama" yields more than double the results of a "Britney Spears" query. For a more traditional measure, D.C. officials say that 2,000 vendors hawked Obama wares during the inauguration, compared with 100 to 200 vendors for past inaugurals.

Presidential souvenirs go back to George Washington's time, when people sold replicas of his monogrammed buttons. But Obama gear is in a different league. "Provenance is out the window," Landau says. "People are just commercializing without any sense of good taste."

Just check out "Hot 4 Barack" hot sauce, thongs (in 25,400 Obama-inspired designs on one site alone), "iKiss Barack" lip balm, or Obama condoms (labeled "No experience necessary"). Others are simply absurd. One website offers "Obama's White House Sword," at $79.99 for 43 inches, alongside Lord of the Rings-inspired blades. Even Marvel got in the game with a comic featuring Obama and Spider-Man, complete with fist-bump.

And then there is "Chia Obama," available in two poses: determined or happy. Although it doesn't debut until March, thousands have been preordered, says Michael Hirsch, vice president of the company selling the terra-cotta figurines. If the plant-growing president with the tag line "Hail to the Ch-ch-ch-chief!" proves popular, he could joinMr. T and Scooby-Doo in Chia's annals of top sellers.

Plenty of mainstream brands are jumping on the Obama bandwagon, too, including Southwest Airlines (with a "Yes You Can" sale) and Ben & Jerry's, with a "Yes Pecan" ice cream flavor.

Some souvenirs have clearly crossed the lines of taste. The $9.99-per-box "Obama Waffles" features a thick-lipped, grinning caricature of the president. Another illustration of Obama on the side, his head wrapped in a towel, is paired with an arrow reading, "Point box toward Mecca for tastier waffles." The makers of the mix have insisted it is political satire. To others, it's nothing short of racist.

The frenzy has garnered the attention of White House lawyers, who have started brainstorming ways to protect the president's image. But for now, the market has spoken, with Obama products knocking out the competition. "There might be a little Sarah Palin product left, but it's minimal," Donna Tsitsikaos says about the items left in her political souvenir chain, America! They've been edged out to make room for the most popular Obama seller: bobblehead dolls.

• Read more news about President Obama.