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Barack Obama is in danger.

He is about to fall victim to the Hannah Montana Effect.

It will catch him by surprise. Few people past age 11 recognize the phenomenon, including the undercover/overexposed TV character herself. Ah, but 10-year-old girls everywhere sense it instinctively.

Basically, one minute people can’t get enough of the freshest celebrity, and — it goes without saying — all the associated tie-in merchandise. “Yes we can” T-shirts. “Runway to Change” tote bags. Authentic gold-plated coins from Liberia. Commemorative plates available exclusively through the Official 2009 Presidential Inauguration Store, the Bradford Exchange, the Franklin Mint, Walgreen’s, Sam’s Club and select Gas ’N’ Go locations near you.

For the moment, our president-elect is IT. And just as fathers did only a season ago for the last big IT, poor little Miley (aka Hannah) Cyrus, a has-been at age 15, they would now gladly run radio station-sponsored footraces in high heels just to get a ticket to the inaugural ball, or trade their first-born for a backstage pass.

But alas, for every Cinderella story, there comes that stroke of midnight when the coach turns back into a pumpkin, the white horses back into mice.

It is the moment when people have gotten enough of the Chinese-made merchandise. Too much, really.

And you? You get marked down. Put on clearance, baby. And who can predict when? In Hannah aka Miley’s case, it was the day after Christmas. The day after 10-year-old girls everywhere unwrapped their gifts to find, crestfallen, Hannah Montana Twister, or Undercover Pop Star Karaoke, and aunts whispered, “When did she get over Hannah Montana?”

About five minutes ago. We can’t have our president-elect on clearance before the oath of office is dry. He may be over-merchandised, but he’s all we’ve got.

He’s the leader of the free world. The keeper of democracy.

He might even be a rock star.

Contact Lorraine Ahearn at 373-7334 or lorraine.ahearn@news-record.com