Hadrian did it first

Listening to NPR today, Guy Raz drew a long comparison between Roman emperor Hadrian and Obama. When both entered office, they both had a quagmire in Mesopotamia that was draining blood and treasure. They both had massive national debts to deal with. Both had up-start rebellions of non-homogeneous citizens grumbling around the empire. Both were both in the far western reaches (Spain and Hawaii) of their respective empires.

It's not a new comparison, as google showed me today here and here and here, but it is an interesting one.

Now, if Obama could build a wall, along the Canadian border to keep certain Wasilla natives from invading the lower 48... nah, it'd probably be as ineffective as Hadrian's was in England.