During his press conference late Friday morning on the sequester, President Obama got off a few good one liners in trying to change the minds of his opponents on the Hill. Until this: “Even though most people agree that I’m being reasonable; that most people agree I’m presenting a fair deal; the fact they don’t take it means I should somehow do a Jedi mind meld with these folks and convince them to do what’s right.”
Now if you know your Jedis from your Starfleet officers, and if you know the difference between the Millenium Falcon and the U.S.S. Enterprise, you know what’s wrong with Obama’s off-hand remark.
But if Star Wars and Star Trek are the same thing in your head, first of all know that I’m judging you just a little bit. Also know, they’re not. And to keep you from doubting my credibility on such matters, this is at my desk. The Jedis of the Star Wars world are known for their “Jedi mind tricks,” like this (click forward to about 3:05):
The mind meld is a tool of the Vulcans like Spock, you know–the people from Star Trek with no emotions, pointy ears, and a love of all things logical:
Naturally, plenty of geeks on the Internets spotted POTUS’s mistake immediately and the tweets starting coming at warp speed (ok, light speed for you Star Wars fans):
Correction, Mr. President, it’s Vulcan Mind Meld, not Jedi Mind Meld #sequester
— Ed Schultz (@edshow) March 1, 2013
Obama lost the Star Wars vote with that “Jedi Mind meld” gaffe.
— The Fix (@TheFix) March 1, 2013
Obama just said “Jedi Mindmeld.”That sound you heard was Picard face-palming.
— Damon Lindelof (@DamonLindelof) March 1, 2013
Obama just said “Jedi mindmeld.” What’s next, Klingon lightsabers? #Shame #Impeach
— rob delaney (@robdelaney) March 1, 2013
Oh, dear Lord, Mr. President. “Jedi Mindmeld?” I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’m afraid I must ask for my votes back. Both of them.
— Joshua Malina (@JoshMalina) March 1, 2013
Yeah I had “gobbledygook” and “jedi mind meld” in my drinking game.
— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) March 1, 2013
Ease The Geek Rage: Obama’s Technically Right, There Is a Jedi Meld tcrn.ch/Z2P4y7 by @ferenstein
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) March 1, 2013
Now about that last tweet from TechCrunch – yes, there is something like a Jedi mind meld in the later Star Wars books. But c’mon, that isn’t canon!! So it cannot count.
UPDATE 3:35PM ET: Showing that the administration hasn’t lost its sense of humor, the White House tweeted an acknowledgment of President Obama’s geek fail. The statement is on message, while also being a hilarious Star Trek/Star Wars mashup, and comes complete with a new web address: WH.gov/JediMindMeld. All I can add is, “Beam me up, Chewie!”
We must bring balance to the Force. #Sequester #JediMindMeld twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…
— The White House (@whitehouse) March 1, 2013
