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Friday, Mar 1, 2013 10:11 PM UTC

Despite “Jedi” flap, Obama still has nerd cred

"Jedi mind meld" mix-ups aside, Obama is still a pretty big geek SLIDE SHOW

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Topics: Barack Obama, White House, Star Trek, Star Wars, slideshow,

Despite (Credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

In a press conference Friday, President Obama outraged nerds everywhere when he mixed up his “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” references and referred to a “Jedi mind meld.” The comment quickly took hold of the Internet (and spawned the hashtag #ObamaSciFiQuotes). Even the White House riffed on the mix-up with a tweet that (probably) intentionally confused the two franchises again:

Despite this, Obama has pretty strong nerd cred. Here’s a look back at the best of those moments:

Slideshow: Nerd Obama

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  • What are some of Barack Obama's nerdiest moments? For one thing, here he uses a "Star Wars" lightsaber to parry with an Olympic fencer in September 2009.

    credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

  • The president pretends to be caught in Spider-Man's web right before Halloween 2012.

    credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

  • Obama does the Vulcan salute with actress Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura on “Star Trek” in the 60s. Nichols tweeted the picture in April 2012.

    credit: Twitter/RealNichelle

  • Then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama poses in front of the Superman Statue in Metropolis, Ill., in August 2006.

    credit: obama.senate.gov

  • The president looks through a telescope during Astronomy Night at the White House in October 2009.

    credit: Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

  • President Obama records an episode of the Discovery Channel's "MythBusters" alongside hosts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, in October 2010.

    credit: Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

  • President Obama or Indiana Jones? The president jokingly tried on a version of the iconic hat during a tour of the Egyptian Pyramids in June 2009.

    credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

  • Obama gets really excited about an “Extreme Marshmallow Cannon" during the White House science fair in February 2012.

    credit: Whitehouse.gov

  • Janet Kavandi, Director of Flight Crew Operations at the Johnson Space Center, gives the president a jacket during a visit with the crew for the Space Shuttle Atlantis in November 2011.

    credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

  • Obama checks out a soccer-playing robot built by a team from Blue Bell, Pa., during the White House science fair in October 2010.

    credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

  • Obama looks through a microscope during a tour of an oncology laboratory in Bethesda, Md., in September 2009.

    credit: Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson

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Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com. More Jillian Rayfield.

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