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Obama got it right with 'Jedi mind meld,' says Star Trek's Sulu

President Barack Obama became the center of the universe Friday when he tried to explain a special power to get Congress to take his deal to avert the sequester

President Barack Obama became the center of the universe Friday when he tried to explain a special power to get Congress to take his deal to avert the sequester.

“The fact that they don't take it means that I should somehow do a Jedi mind-meld with these folks and convince them to do what's right,” Obama told reporters at the White House.

Jedi mind meld? The reaction was swift. Here’s a sample:

NO OBAMA NO. committed the ultimate nerd sin and mixed up #starwars and #startrek. #jedi #mindmeld! #WHYGODWHY!? mashable.com/2013/03/01/oba…— Diane (@yoo_dcoon) March 1, 2013

The Star Trek nerds, the Star Wars nerds and also a few political nerds went nuts.

The Vulcan mind meld is all about reading people's minds. The character Mr. Spock could also allow others to read his mind. With the Jedi mind trick, you can change someone's mind. Clearly, this is what President Obama was going for, but he messed it up.

But actor, director and activist George Takei, who played Lt. Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek: The Original Series, insists the president actually got it exactly right.

"Jedis are the guardians of peace and justice. And mind meld is the Vulcan way of having the force of pure, clean communication between one mind and the another," Takei said on "The Ed Show" on Friday. "Well, that's what the president is trying to do--bring those two forces together."

Takei also compared Republicans with Klingons, recurring villains in the Star Trek franchise, but predicted "the force of the mind meld and the force of Jedi power" will eventually produce the common ground that'll be required for a resolution.

Spock himself, actor Leonard Nimoy, weighed in on Twitter:

Only a Vulcan mind meld will help with this congress. LLAP— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) March 1, 2013

The White House turned the controversy to its advantage, tweeting:

We must bring balance to the Force. #Sequester #JediMindMeld twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…— The White House (@whitehouse) March 1, 2013