One of the last monarchs in the declining days of the Roman empire, as the invading Turks drew closer, said the following about his youthful, would-be monarch son: "My son deems himself a great and heroic prince; but alas! our miserable age does not afford scope for heroism or greatness. His daring spirit might have suited the happier times of our ancestors; but the present state requires not an emperor, but a cautious steward of the last relics of our fortunes."

He could have been speaking of Obama.