Obama's “Jedi Mind Meld”: Gaffe or Genius?

Was the president conflating "Star Wars" and "Star Trek?"

Forget the sequester, the hottest topic in Washington is just how well does President Obama know his Star Wars mythology.

During an impromptu press conference on Friday to address the sequester deadline, President Obama was asked why he was powerless to prevent the deep spending cuts from going into effect.

Obama responded by saying he can't "do a Jedi mind meld with these folks and convince them to do what's right."

The Twitterverse wasted no time in calling out the Commander-in-Chief for his apparent gaffe confusing "Star Wars" and "Star Trek."

Jedis, of course, are famed for their "mind tricks," as when Obi-Wan Kenobi convinced a pair of storm troopers that R2 and C3P-O were not the droids they were looking for. A "mind meld" is a part of the "Star Trek" legend, a method by which Vulcans can communicate with others.

But as the derisive tweets poured in, Garance Franke-Ruta of The Atlantic came to Obama's defense.


As it turns out, the "Jedi Meld," as defined by the "Star Wars" wiki, is "a technique where a number of Force users joined their minds together through the Force, drawing strength from each other."

Does Obama really know "Star Wars" this well, or was it a massive error that will cost Dems the nerd vote in the 2014 midterm elections?

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