Looks like the president might need to take some time to brush up on his Star Wars lingo.

On Friday, at a news conference addressing the looming sequester that would impose big government budget cuts by Saturday, President Barack Obama addressed the trouble he's having convincing Republicans in Congress to come around to his way of thinking. Now, we're not in the business of getting into the political side of things here, but one thing Obama said while talking about how his powers of persuasion only go so far caught our eye.

"Somehow, even though most people agree that I'm being reasonable, the fact that they [Republicans] don't take it [the deal], that I should somehow do a Jedi mind meld [with them]..."

Jedi mind meld? Any self-respecting sci-fi fan will tell you that the Vulcans of Star Trek do the mind melding. Jedi knights, on the other hand, do mind tricks.



And yes, obviously the president has a lot on his mind, and he's in the middle of a major battle with opponents in Congress, and the nation's economy could be at stake, and he made his point despite the gaffe. But come on. We're sci-fi-obsessed. It's not like we can just let that go.

And oh, by the way, the Twitter jokes are already rolling in:

"These aren't the Tribbles you're looking for..." - President Barack Obama — rob delaney (@robdelaney) March 1, 2013

Obama just said "Jedi Mindmeld."That sound you heard was Picard face-palming. — Damon Lindelof (@DamonLindelof) March 1, 2013

It's as if a million nerds suddenly cried out in anger over President Obama mistakenly using the term "Jedi mind meld." — Indecision (@indecision) March 1, 2013

Just a few minutes in our past, this wouldn't have made any sense. #JediMindMeld twitter.com/JPMajor/status… — Jason Major (@JPMajor) March 1, 2013

BREAKING: Obama combines Star Wars/Star Trek terms by saying "Jedi mind meld," National Guard called in to quell nerd uprising — Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) March 1, 2013

And in case you were wondering, the inevitable parody account problem has already been taken care of.

Preemptive measure by @stefanjbecket. — No Parody Accounts (@jedimindmeld) March 1, 2013

(The Guardian via John Joseph Adams)