Obama: I Can’t Use ‘Jedi Mindmeld’ On Congress To Fix Sequestration

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM



DAVID TAINTOR 12:06 PM EST, FRIDAY MARCH 1, 2013

Asked why he doesn't just sit down with congressional leaders until a sequestration deal is reached, President Obama said Friday that he can't lock lawmakers in a room.

"I am not a dictator, I'm the President," Obama said. "So, ultimately, if Mitch McConnell or John Boehner say, we need to go to catch a plane, I can't have Secret Service block the doorway."

Obama added: "I know that this has been some of the conventional wisdom that's been floating around Washington that somehow, even though most people agree that I'm being reasonable, that most people agree I'm presenting a fair deal. The fact that they don't take it means that I should somehow, you know, do a Jedi mindmeld with these folks and convince them to do what's right. Well, you know, they're elected. We have a constitutional system of government."

-30-

Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/obama-i-cant-use-jedi-mindmeld-on-congress

[atreides1]

1. Excuse me sir

But it's a Vulcan mindmeld! Just saying...

[valerief]

5. But if he said Vulcan, the Right would hear vulva and call him Satan and whatnot. nt

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

11. You only thought he said mindmeld. PBO is just that good.

[progressoid]

17. You'd think he would know that considering....

[L0oniX]

25. LMFAO n/t

[xxqqqzme]

59. I see he adopted Michelle's

'bangs'. It will take some getting used to though.

[demosocialist]

69. LMAO

[wordpix]

84. great job!

[frylock]

29. or jedi mind tricks..

either way, massive analogy fail.

[NRA_SUCKS]

75. Actually the analogyworks...

he's right he's not george bush, he's not a dictator.
he can't MAKE the opposition listen to reason, and he can't MAKE them do what he wants.
yeah ok, i sniggered at his geek-fail (hey it's a rare mistake for him) but the point is still valid imho.

granted i've never been such a rabid fan of either I can't appreciate the mashup.

[sakabatou]

34. Yeah, I thought that too

Vulcan mindmeld: Star Trek
Jedi mindtrick: Star Wars

Get your geekiness correct, Mr. President.

[pansypoo53219]

79. this is why the writing in star wars sucked. the jedi WHAT. it does have a better name.

of course combining BOTH still can't make the fucking grover wing budge.

[tblue37]

39. He melded the minds of Yoda and Spock! nt

[LiberalFighter]

62. Exactly! They both mess with the mind.

Although Yoda does the twisting of the mind more than a Vulcan mind meld.

[Xithras]

68. The wisdom, it is great with this one. Fascinating.

[24601]

66. LOL - apparently not a Jedi either....

[Berlum]

81. Thank you for setting the record straight

[KamaAina]

2. Worst gaffe of his career

or of any President's in recent memory.

It's the Vulcan mind meld, dammit!

[Meaniepants]

37. Well

If that's the worst you can come up with you're being petty. It will be hard to beat a Senator filibustering his own bill.

[KamaAina]

46. Meant in jest

I hardly thought I needed this:

[Texin]

51. "Worst gaffe ... of any Presidents in recent memory"??? Really? How 'bout the 8 years of Shrub?

[KamaAina]

58. Again,

meant in jest.

[kdmorris]

67. Obviously, you DO need

For goodness sake, man, get your shit together before you get eviscerated!

(Just wanted to say *I* got it. Geeks Unite!)

[Rosa Luxemburg]

76. He's just testing the nation's Star Trek vocabulary

the nation needs a little pop quiz now and again

[iandhr]

3. I thought he was secretly a Jedi damn.

[L0oniX]

26. ...more like a Sith lord. n/t

[iandhr]

30. Thats what the GOP would say.

[Ter]

70. The Jedi would never support drones on its own citizens

Obama is very Sith-like. But he is not the Sith Master, someone else is out there in great disguise.

[onehandle]

4. Why doesn't he just give them everything they want?

Leave the White House and let SCOTUS install Mittens in his place!

What's so hard about that, Mr. President?!

[L0oniX]

23. The corporations are already getting just about everything they want. n/t

[bluedigger]

6. I'm so embarrassed for my country right now.

"Jedi Mindmeld"?!

[Meaniepants]

38. embarrassed.

" A woman's body has a defence mechanism to rape"
" if a woman gets pregnant by rape it's gods gift "

[bluedigger]

44. Why would I be embarrassed by Republicans?

Now, the President, he represents us all.

But thanks for injecting some darkness into a moment of levity.

[Zorro]

7. Lots of furious Republican nutjobs calling in on C-Span

All of them blaming Obama.

One caller said she didn't care about fixing bridges and roads -- she barely had enough money to afford a car, and that what was needed was jobs.

[Plucketeer]

10. Give it a few weeks

Last edited Fri Mar 1, 2013, 03:42 PM - Edit history (1)

As soon as those "job creators" see that their tax evasion techniques are safe, they'll be building new factories left and right! In these new job centers, they'll hire a buncha folks at slave labor wages and produce stuffs that no one has any money to buy!

[SheilaT]

28. At the risk of seeming argumentative,

the "job creators", once they see all their money is safe, will simply pile even more of it into banks in the Bahamas or wherever. I sincerely doubt they will build a new factory anywhere, unless it's in whatever country is currently offering the lowest wages for the workers.

All they have done for years now is to remove jobs from this country, and they will continue to do so for as long as possible.

I honestly can't think of a realistic solution. I wish I could.

[Myrina]

35. Bingo. Sadly.

You are correct. Sigh.

[Plucketeer]

45. I corrected my post

I guess I too often figure my sarcasm doesn't need labelling.

[msongs]

21. since there is no jobs program coming from obama/dems/repubs that lady is out of luck nt

[Meaniepants]

43. out of luck?

The bridges and roads among other infrastructure is Obama's job program. It is hysterical how that was lost on both of you.

[tblue37]

41. Fixing bridges and roads CREATES jobs. That's what FDR did. nt

[wordpix]

86. apparently the woman can't figure that out, geesh

[Cha]

57. Lots of brainwashed calling in on C-Span.. there I

fixed it.

[wordpix]

85. she needs a job so tell it to R$ & his repug ilk who outsource jobs

The people in this country are so STOOPID - how about blame a few corporations running overseas sweatshops instead of a decent president, why dontcha?

[bigbrother05]

8. These are not the cuts you are looking for - Jedi mind trick

"Please proceed, Governor" is the classic example

He was mixing his sci fi references, so now we've all gone Sheldon Cooper on him.

[FirstLight]

15. ;)

He's right...even if he got the reference garbled in the moment. I could've done the same in a pinch...

However, Jedi mind tricks work on the weak-minded...it really wouldn't be THAT hard to do LOL

[Dryvinwhileblind]

9. Oh bowels of Boner, it's more a Constipational form of Gubmint, yes?

[Robb]

12. Bringing Star Trek and Star Wars fans together -- he's a uniter!

[grantcart]

20. lol classic

[frylock]

31. are you talking about the star trek wars..

or the star wars trek?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

78. Good one!

[Android3.14]

13. Snarkiness over Vulcan vs Jedi mindmeld?

Which episode did Spock use his mind meld to force someone to do something?
Whereas I distinctly remember a phrase, "These are not the droids your looking for" in Star Wars.
The crime here is mixing the two, not mistaking one for the other.

[FailureToCommunicate]

32. I agree with you. But, there WAS once when Spock forced a mind meld to get

Last edited Sat Mar 2, 2013, 06:35 PM - Edit history (1)

a junior officer to confess.

This one:



Star Trek The Undiscovered Country

[AtheistCrusader]

33. Forcibly? I don't recall him doing so in an episode, but

he did in Star Trek VI, TUC. On Valeris.

[Demeter]

14. Not only ignorant of science, but also of science fiction

This is the mark of a nation in decline.

[RevStPatrick]

16. You need to make up your mind, Mr. President...

Which are you?

[FiveGoodMen]

18. "I'm not a dictator ... except when I want to kill someone using a drone"

[jtuck004]

19. ""I am not a dictator". Neither was FDR.

Obama to Bankers: "I'm Standing Between You and the Pitchforks"

Maybe you just need to move to our side.

[L0oniX]

22. Obama mixed up Star Wars & Star Trek, upsetting all Americans...

...afflicted with the disability of not having a fucking life. - Frank Conniff

[bluedigger]

36. When I want Frank Conniff's opinion, I'll find out who the fuck he is.

[nolabear]

49. *GASP!* You don't know TV's Frank? I...I...

[bluedigger]

50. Okay, now I'm going to have to google him...

A friend of mine met and impressed another of Frank's coworkers on the show at a lecture a couple of weeks ago. Posted pics with him on FB and everything. So excited.

[maxsolomon]

24. Umm... Can't he call a Special Session?

of both Houses?

[Drunken Irishman]

53. That'll solve everything!

[maxsolomon]

82. Well, a Special Session wouldn't allow them to ignore their responsibilities.

And head back home for a round of golf.

Obama acts like he can't pull the levers of presidential power.

Make em sweat!

[SwankyXomb]

54. Article II, Section 3. n/t

[MotherPetrie]

27. This person does NOT agree he's presenting a fair deal

[forestpath]

42. Neither does this person.

[Drunken Irishman]

52. So?

[MotherPetrie]

60. So?

[Drunken Irishman]

61. Exactly...so?

[MessiahRp]

74. That response sounds very Dick Cheney-esque.

-smh-

[AnotherMcIntosh]

40. No one should blame President Obama. He doesn't even have the power to close Gitmo.

[Pterodactyl]

47. <<<<facepalm>>>>

[Matariki]

48. Geek FAIL

[yurbud]

65. I think it's a conspiracy to make him look like a NON-geek

He probably not only knows the difference, but can quote scenes and lines.

[Redford]

56. The birther crowd is already having a field day over this at Freeperville

As a Star Wars geek, I am simply appalled.

[yurbud]

63. you can't meld with an empty vessel

[Rosa Luxemburg]

77. True

[yurbud]

64. Professor Smartass says: I got this! PICS:

[Kennah]

71. I'll betcha Obama uses Grabthar's hammer

[magellan]

73. I'll bet he immediately wished he could activate the Omega 13

...and do a retake.

[Kennah]

83. Perhaps he's using Vulcan mind tricks. Far more insidious than Jedi mind tricks. The bastard!

[magellan]

88. That would be more his style!

[kentauros]

72. At least most people have an idea of what he was trying to say.

Whereas, if he'd said "...do a Psi-Corp mindwipe with these folks and convince them to do what's right. The Corp is Mother. The Corp is Father," no one would have gotten the reference

[Ash_F]

80. Translation: Vote Dem

He can't say it outright, but that's what he's saying.

[wordpix]

87. just say this: the 'pubs refuse to raise taxes on those earning $1 million/year & that's why

government programs are being cut.

Stop being so professorial that the stoopids can't follow.