Jedi Mind Meld

President Obama tried to drop a gratuitous nerd culture reference in a press conference about serious business, and blew it. He said earlier today he couldn't perform a "Jedi mind meld" on the GOP, an amalgam of "Jedi mind trick" and "Vulcan mind meld." Regarding negotiations with Congress over issues like averting the sequester, Obama drew further Twitter mockery with the line, "I am not a dictator. I'm the president."

Nevermind the GOP, now the president has the wrath of pedantic Trekkies and Star Wars buffs to confront. To scan the stormy horizon of nerdrage, skim the #ObamaSciFiQuotes hashtag results on Twitter.

Obama once even made a Boing Boing reference, in a 2011 speech:

And while I know I have my share of critics out there, I don't focus on the negative stuff. I just don't pay much attention to it. Most days I barely skim through the comment section of Huffington Post — Daily Kos — Fire Dog Lake — The Daily Dish — boingboing.net. (Laughter.)

John Hodgman exposed the President's lack of Nerd Cred long ago.

This is not the administration's first attempt to drop deep-geek references in conspicuous moments: the White House has previously quoted Vader.

Now that "Star Trek" motion picture director JJ Abrams is signed on for the new "Star Wars" sequel, perhaps the President wasn't that far off.

Is anyone else depressed by the fact that more of our peers seem more outraged about the "mind meld" remark than the automatic spending cuts that will begin kicking in today, affecting middle-class workers and families the most? Or, you know, the Bradley Manning trial nobody's paying attention to?

Above: @capnmarrrrk found the Star Wars/Trek/Frazetta image to rule them all. Anyone know who did it, or have a higher rez?

UPDATE: Perhaps he knew exactly what he was saying, and is nerdier than thou. (HT: Chris Peterson)



UPDATE 2: And the White House seizes the meme day.