mixing metaphors

Victor Steinbok aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM
Fri Mar 1 23:24:59 UTC 2013


This is not the only reference to Obama and the Jedi on this issue. But
it's a big step from "mind tricks" to "mind meld".

http://goo.gl/sjNwi
http://goo.gl/wBPWl
Why Isn't Obama Using Jedi Mind Tricks to Solve the Sequester?
> The Pentagon cuts were not as scary to Republicans as the White House
> assumed they would be, and the thought of raising taxes is scarier.
> Jedi mind tricks might be best directed towards the voters of several
> conservative House districts, like, say, by releasing hundreds of
> illegal immigrants and warning more will able to slip in the country
> unless the sequester is stopped.

This post was widely reported on the left and might have been referenced
by some of the staffers. I would suggest that Obama liked the metaphor
but screwed the pooch on delivery.

But there are worse things than mixed metaphors:

http://goo.gl/ZE1fm
> Jedi Mind Melt?

Of course, this is from a Glenn Beck fan, so no surprise there...

VS-)

On 3/1/2013 3:32 PM, James A. Landau <JJJRLandau at netscape.com> wrote:
> The following AP account speaks for itself.  I might add that the writer has a name which suggests she was born on Krypton.
>
> http://channels.isp.netscape.com/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-+&idq=/ff/story/1001%2F20130301%2F5186.htm&sc=+&floc=NW_1-T
>
> <quote>
> Beam me up, Yoda: Obama won't do 'Jedi mind meld'
> DARLENE SUPERVILLE
> Associated Press
>
>
> WASHINGTON (AP) — He's not a dictator and won't entertain the idea of a "Jedi mind meld" with opponents. There's no "secret formula or special sauce" he can slip foes to make them see things his way. And not to worry, he says, the situation may look dire but won't be an "apocalypse."
>
> So who was the guy in a suit who showed up Friday in the White House briefing room, mixing metaphors and references to "Star Wars" and "Star Trek"?
>
> "I am not a dictator. I'm the president," Barack Obama declared as he rejected the idea of using burly Secret Service agents to keep lawmakers from leaving until everyone agreed on a budget. He answered reporters' questions shortly after an inconclusive, 52-minute meeting with the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate.
>
> "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. Right?"
>
> Even if he did bar his office — the oval one — Obama said he wouldn't do a "Jedi mind mild" with Congress' top two Republicans to persuade them "to do what's right."
>
> Yoda-quoting nerds, Beltway insiders and even Hollywood heroes were instantly abuzz. The presidential mishmash of sci-fi references went viral, turning off geeks who had considered Obama to be one of them with a slip of the tongue that was almost as bad as confusing Klingons and Ewoks, or even Democrats and Republicans.
>
> Jedis are from "Star Wars," while mind-melds happened on "Star Trek."
>
> Mister Spock of "Star Trek" weighed in.
>
> "Only a Vulcan mind meld would be effective on this Congress. LLAP," Leonard Nimoy emailed after The Associated Press sought his reaction. Nimoy signed off with the abbreviation for his "Live long and prosper."
> <end quote>
>
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