President Obama Confuses Star Wars And Star Trek, Loses Some Nerd Cred
EDIT 3/2/13, 7:52pm: I guess those who live in glass houses…
Speaking about the failure to reach a deal with Congressional Republican leaders to avert the sequester, President Barack Obama insisted he would not force his will on anyone, saying he will not use a “Jedi mind-meld” to convince opponents he is right.
Come again, Mr. President? Surely you mean either a “Jedi mind trick,” like the fabled knights use in Star Wars to bypass weaker minds; or a “Vulcan mind meld,” used by that race in Star Trek to gain access to the thoughts of another.
The president even seemed to hesitate on the word “meld,” as if he wasn’t sure. Perhaps he knew the correct phrase, but did not want to use the word “tricks” to refer to legislative negotiations, even to describe something he wouldn’t do.
(Note: Some have pointed out that there is such a thing as a Jedi mind meld in the extended Star Wars universe; but it is not a common reference.)
Still, it was potent fodder for Twitter and internet commentors, many of whom have felt a kinship with the president who professed a love for comic books, has hosted a White House Science Fair, and appeared on an episode of Mythbusters.
But with somewhat eerie speed and graphic design skills, the White House embraced the minor gaffe. The president’s official feed tweeted a photo of Obama during the press conference, surrounded by an outer space border, and including quotes that reference both film franchises: “These cuts aren’t the solutions Americans are looking for,” paraphrasing Obi-Wan Kenobi’s famous line; and “To deny the facts would be illogical,” a statement from Spock. The tweet’s message? “We must bring balance to the Force.”
The tweet also directed users to wh.gov/jedimindmeld for more about “Obama’s balanced approach to end the sequester.”
Sadly, the president’s joke was a response to the real perception among too many Americans that he is a “tyrant,” or “Chicago thug.” (When I did an internet search for “Obama mind meld” to find video of the press conference, Google first auto-suggested “Obama mind control techniques.”) Obama had denied being a dictator just moments before, and explained that he was not going to force his opponents to do anything, no matter how unreasonable they are being. However, the president’s actual behavior seems to have little effect on his critics- though, as Jon Stewart pointed out, tyrants are usually more tyrannical.
Personally, I’ll forgive the president for his otherwise heretical confusion of Star Wars and Star Trek. He’s got a lot on his mind.
What do you think?
[via Yahoo! News]
[...] President Obama Confuses Star Wars And Star Trek, Loses Some Nerd Cred – DrJays.com Live [...]
[...] President Obama Confuses Star Wars And Star Trek, Loses Some Nerd CredDrJays.com LiveSpeaking about the failure to reach a deal with Congressional Republican leaders to avert the sequester, President Barack Obama insisted he would not force his will on anyone, saying he will not use a “Jedi mind-meld” to convince opponents he is right.'Jedi Mind Meld' : White House embraces nerdy meme for sequestration pushNBCNews.com (blog)Nerd Fail: President Obama Mixes Up Star Wars and Star Trek in Sequester …WiredRepublicans resist Obama's Jedi mind meldBBC NewsE! Online -Cinema Blend -TechCrunchall 141 news articles [...]
[...] Article from http://live.drjays.com/index.php/2013/03/02/president-obama-confuses-star-wars-and-star-trek-loses-s… Comments [0]Digg [...]
[...] Star Wars And Star Trek, Loses Some Nerd CredDrJays.com LiveSpeaking about the failure Source: Google News This entry was posted in Uncategorized on March 2, 2013 by [...]
[...] President Obama Confuses Star Wars And Star Trek, Loses Some Nerd CredDrJays.com LiveSpeaking about the failure to reach a deal with Congressional Republican leaders to avert the sequester, President Barack Obama insisted he would not force his will on anyone, saying he will not use a “Jedi mind-meld” to convince opponents he is right.'Jedi Mind Meld' : White House embraces nerdy meme for sequestration pushNBCNews.com (blog)Nerd Fail: President Obama Mixes Up Star Wars and Star Trek in Sequester …WiredRepublicans resist Obama's Jedi mind meldBBC NewsE! Online -TechCrunch -MarketWatch (blog)all 141 news articles » [...]
Mr. Ben Glaser,
You write about the president confusing the issue but you in your first paragraph, make reference to doctor Spock wasn’t it mister Spock the star trek character?
Do you not know the difference??
I think you just lost some nerd cred too. It’s not Dr. Spock. He was a pediatrician that wrote a famous book. Star Trek had a Mr. Spock and a Dr. McCoy.
From the throwing stones from glass houses department:
You lost of bit of cred yourself by calling Mr. Spock “Dr. Spock”.
*Mr.* Spock is a the Vulcan. *Dr.* Spock wrote a book about caring for babies.
Get it straight!
N_J
In the first Sw, Obi forces the police to not notice them. The Pres is ok
It’s MR. SPOCK genius. Get your facts together before you publish a public article about somebody not having their facts together.
[...] President Obama Confuses Star Wars And Star Trek, Loses Some Nerd CredDrJays.com LiveSpeaking about the failure to reach a deal with Congressional Republican leaders to avert the sequester, President Barack Obama insisted he would not force his will on anyone, saying he will not use a “Jedi mind-meld” to convince opponents he is right.'Jedi Mind Meld' : White House embraces nerdy meme for sequestration pushNBCNews.com (blog)Nerd Fail: President Obama Mixes Up Star Wars and Star Trek in Sequester …WiredRepublicans resist Obama's Jedi mind meldBBC NewsE! Online -TechCrunch -MarketWatch (blog)all 141 news articles [...]
I quite enjoyed this malaprop.
[...] President Obama Confuses Star Wars And Star Trek, Loses Some Nerd CredDrJays.com LiveSpeaking about the failure to reach a deal with Congressional Republican leaders to avert the sequester, President Barack Obama insisted he would not force his will on anyone, saying he will not use a “Jedi mind-meld” to convince opponents he is right.Sequestration 2013: Twitter mind meld over Obama Jedi gaffePoliticoObama: No “Jedi mind-meld” with RepublicansReutersObama dismisses 'Jedi mind meld' to solve sequesterLos Angeles TimesWashington Post -TIME -MiamiHerald.comall 137 news articles [...]
[...] President Obama Confuses Star Wars And Star Trek, Loses Some Nerd CredDrJays.com LiveSpeaking about the failure to reach a deal with Congressional Republican leaders to avert the sequester, President Barack Obama insisted he would not force his will on anyone, saying he will not use a “Jedi mind-meld” to convince opponents he is right.Obama: I can't do 'Jedi mind meld'PoliticoJedi Mind Meld, President Obama? Why it mattersWashington Post (blog)7 Star Wars / Star Trek Mashups We'd Like to SeeWiredIGN -NBCNews.com (blog) -CNN (blog)all 140 news articles » [...]
how could the nerd miss that–wow
maybe people shouldn’t be worried about this at all. my concern is how much he tries to get the people of this nation to like him. his “star power” that got him so many votes is not what makes a great president.
the writer of this article is givving the prez.a hard time about being wrong but4gets,ITS MR SPOCK SIR NOT DR. SPOCK OK dr.spock wrote books 4 childern u get the eject button pal lmao
Obama’s soviet handlers, evidently, didn’t spend enough time reviewing this particular subject.
Now this is just ridiculous people, the point of the matter simply is that there is a clear difference between Star Wars and Star Trek and if our president is able to make that kind of mistake when its truely a no brainer……. Then I’m worried about the future mistakes he is more than likely to make!!!!!!