• USA Today , Wednesday, December 10, 2008 11 AM

Speaking of coffee, my cousin the politician sent me a couple of Obama Inauguration mugs a few weeks ago. I promptly put them to use as part of the early-morning production team for "Around the Net in Brand Marketing."

When other members of the household saw what I was doing, well, it was as if I was using the good china for my cornflakes. The mugs, I was told, are collectible. Worth a lot of money someday. (Here's what I was thinking: "Sure, just like the Desert Storm bubble gum cards my father-in-law told me to stash in the safe-deposit box." Here's what I did: I put the mugs in the china cabinet.)

Well, I'm not alone, it turns out. Obama products are all the rage this holiday season, and Bruce Horovitz has found a bunch of them, from wineglasses to Christmas tree ornaments; pajamas to doggie T-shirts ("Me and Obama are bad to the bone").

"It's all about peace, love -- and let's make money," says "trends guru" Marian Salzman. Tell you what. I'm gonna buy me a bunch of Obama products and put 'em on eBay a hundred years from now.

Read the whole story at USA Today »