"n 27 BC, Octavian formally returned full power to the Roman Senate and relinquished his control of the Roman provinces and their armies.[108] However, under the consulship of Octavian, the Senate had little power in initiating legislation by introducing bills for senatorial debate.[108] Although Octavian was no longer in direct control of the provinces and their armies, he retained the loyalty of active duty soldiers and veterans alike.[108] The careers of many clients and adherents depended on his patronage, as his financial power in the Roman Republic was unrivaled.[108] The historian Werner Eck states of Augustus:

    The sum of his power derived first of all from various powers of office delegated to him by the Senate and people, secondly from his immense private fortune, and thirdly from numerous patron-client relationships he established with individuals and groups throughout the Empire. All of them taken together formed the basis of his auctoritas, which he himself emphasized as the foundation of his political actions.[110]

To a large extent, the public was aware of the vast financial resources Augustus commanded. When Augustus failed to encourage enough senators to finance the building and maintenance of networks of roads in Italy, he took over direct responsibility of building roads in 20 BC.[111] His construction of roads was publicized on the Roman currency issued in 16 BC, after he donated vast amounts of money to the aerarium Saturni, the public treasury.[111]

According to H.H. Scullard, however, Augustus' power was based on the exercise of "a predominant military power and that the ultimate sanction of his authority was force, however much the fact was disguised."[112]

The Senate proposed to Octavian, the cherished victor of Rome's civil wars, to once again assume command of the provinces. The senate proposal was a ratification of Octavian's extra-constitutional power. Through the senate, Octavian was able to continue the appearance of a still-functional constitution of the Roman Republic. Whilst putting on the appearance of reluctance he accepted a ten year responsibility of overseeing provinces that were considered to be in a somewhat chaotic state.[113][114] The provinces ceded to him to pacify within the promised ten year period comprised much of the conquered Roman world, including all of Hispania and Gaul, Syria, Cilicia, Cyprus, and Egypt.[113][115] Moreover, command over these provinces provided Octavian with control over the majority of Rome's legions.[115][116] While Octavian acted as consul in Rome, he dispatched senators to the provinces under his command as his representatives to manage provincial affairs and ensure his orders were carried out." (Wikipedia)

I fail to see the similarity. Obama is respected by the Armed Forces but he is not of them, nor do they have unusually strong loyalty to him.

A