Is Barack Obama Jesus?

Barack Obama is nearly two hours late when he takes the stage, flashes that smile, and says in that instantly recognisable baritone: "Good afternoon, believers."

And they do believe: teenage girls pressing against the crowd control barricades to take pictures with their mobile phones; middle-aged couples carrying copies of Obama's memoir for signing; fathers with children perched on their shoulders, getting an early lesson in politics.

Everybody wants to say they have seen Obama - up close . . .