Mr Obama's has been to construct a public identity from scratch.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

But Dr Church used it to mean something altogether more sinister - the way in which invented traditions may be used to construct a false identity.

BBC: Define Britishness? It's like painting wind

People don't see me the same way I do, but identity is always as much of a construct as what you want people to think you are.

WSJ: Cindy Sherman