I’m pretty sure this — carrying the byline Seth Borenstein AP Science Writer — isn’t sarcasm:
He shows a fascination with science, an all-too deliberate decision-making demeanor, an adherence to logic and some pretty, ahem, prominent ears.
They all add up to a quite logical conclusion, at least for “Star Trek” fans: Barack Obama is Washington’s Mr. Spock, the chief science officer for the ship of state.
“I guess it’s somewhat unusual for a politician to be so precise, logical, in his thought process,” actor Leonard Nimoy, who has portrayed Spock for more than 40 years, told The Associated Press in an e-mail interview.
gex
It is a sad statement on our polity that people express such utter disdain towards a President who thinks before acting. We apparently would rather be ruled as though a tween twitching around with ADHD were running the place.
gex
And perhaps his title should be corrected to Science Fiction writer.
gwangung
It’s a sad statement for our polity that being compared to figure that was a badass galactic hero with millions and millions of fan (and who is also a pretty good chick magnet) is a BAD thing.
Competency is not a positive policy for these bozos.
Dan
People are just having fun with the comparison. Big deal.
Notorious P.A.T.
Yeah, the kind of person who would fit in at the Applebee’s salad bar!
Keith
So Politico suggests a narrative that Obama is somehow Mr. Spock, and that leads a “journalist” to interview Leonard Nimoy for a quote? WTF?
cleek
and now comedy writers everywhere have a MSM-approved way to get at Obama while dodging the race thing.
and by “now”, i mean have had for a long time.
stevie314159
Do you remember that picture of little Barack at the beach with his grandfather?
picture
Take a good long look at the grandfather. He DOES look like Nimoy!!!
valdemar
I don’t comment much because, as a Brit, I don’t understand a lot of this stuff and have no in-depth knowledge of US politics. I just watch The Shield a lot. However, this Spock stuff is staggering.
The thought that anyone would prefer a dishonest, lazy, Bible-thumping cretin like Dubya or Palin to a cultured, intelligent and thoughtful man of conscience is beyond belief for most of us decadent Europeans.
America’s allies are pleased with Obama in a way Americans (or a lot of Americans) seem unable to be. Your new president has the ability to achieve things through international co-operation rather than careering around like a brain-damaged bull in a china shop.
Just Some Fuckhead
Can someone tell me why First Officer Obama isn’t advising Captain John S. McCain???
Emma
So there’s this hero. He’s a member of one of the most influential families in the galaxy; can unsnarl the most complex problems, from engineering to philosophy; can reason his way out of trouble, and when he can’t, he can drop grown males to the ground with a single pinch to the neck; and he definitely gets all the ladies hot and bothered.
And this is a bad thing?
Shawn in ShowMe
Compared to asking John McCain what he thinks about Obama’s decision making, getting Spock to comment on Spockian behavior is actually an improvement.
PeakVT
Shorter media: we miss the comfort and slight kinkiness of being led by President Jockstrap. (See Matthews, Chris for further examples.)
TenguPhule
Bring on the phaser toting liberal death squads.
Commence Wingnut Sterilization!
RememberNovember
yeah they floated this pre-election. Guess that made McCain Captain Jerk.
ellaesther
@Dan: I have to say that I agree. I mean honestly, you would have a hard time finding a more beloved character in American pop culture than Spock.
@Emma: Also. This.
And finally DougJ? I thought we agreed that if we started shooting you people every time you make the request, you’d all wind up as sieves, and ultimately, if you’re not coming over to drain my spaghetti, that’s nothing I want. So no. I will not shoot you.
(I may or may not be trying to make “we are all sieves” into a meme).
DougJ
The thought that anyone would prefer a dishonest, lazy, Bible-thumping cretin like Dubya or Palin to a cultured, intelligent and thoughtful man of conscience is beyond belief for most of us decadent Europeans.
America’s allies are pleased with Obama in a way Americans (or a lot of Americans) seem unable to be. Your new president has the ability to achieve things through international co-operation rather than careering around like a brain-damaged bull in a china shop.
Yes, I work with a lot of Europeans and they pretty much all say this.
Warren Terra
Nanoo nanoo, bitches.
(Yes, I know I’m modifying a catchphrase from the wrong old TV alien).
Also, surely this makes finding his birth certificate even more of a priority?
Sentient Puddle
For me, the idiocy isn’t comparing Obama to Spock. It’s making that comparison, and then going on to say it’s a bad thing.
As far as I’m concerned, people can draw the comparison all they want. Preferably not by science writers, but I don’t see how it’s particularly bad.
jlo
This really has nothing to do with Spock. It’s all about the black Vulcan on Star Trek: Voyager and everybody knows that all black Vulcans look the same.
The Grand Panjandrum
Lighten up Doug. Isn’t it the media’s job to point how entertaining and clever they can be?
eemom
@valdemar:
well, for someone who doesn’t follow US politics, you demonstrate a grasp on reality that eludes a sizable percentage of the U.S. electorate.
Come to think of it, it might not be such a bad idea if we let you guys do the voting for us.
Shawn in ShowMe
Shorter Spock:
“Most unusual.”
Alex S.
I see… prominent ears = elitist
redbeardjim
@ellaesther:
Is that what the kids are calling it these days….
Brian J
Maybe it’s wise for the White House to cultivate this image. After all, if Obama is like Spock, he’ll capture the Trekkies. Michelle can then declare her love for “Lost,” “Buffy,” and anything to do with Joss Whedon and/or vampires, while Malia and Sasha can go after the specific subsets of Hannah Montana and Twilight fans. Meanwhile, Marianne Robinson can pretend she’s the president from “Battlestar Galactica.”
There you go, John Cole, turning your back on this awesomely powerful constituency.
catclub
ellaesther @ 16
I would guess Kermit the frog is at least as well loved as Spock.
Steerpike
To extend the analogy, I guess W. would be a Ferengi: diminuitive, full of himself, regarded by others as a buffoon, he sees himself as clever and crafty. Though shallow and somewhat ludicous, he does have the ability to cause trouble for others, either through malice or ineptitude, or a combination of both.
[/trek geek]
Brian J
@catclub:
If anybody is Kermit the Frog, it’s former Republican congressman from Iowa Jim Leach, who is also an Obama supporter. Or so his speech at the Democratic convention convinced me that this was the case.
Mark S.
@valdemar:
You’re gonna love President Huckabee!
On a related note, Huckie apparently is leaning against running in 2012. I’m beginning to think Romney is a lock for the GOP nomination. I kind of doubt Palin will run, and Republicans tend not to nominate dark horses.
mistermix
That story was filed on December 1. 75% of it is bullshit Star Trek speculation, but the peg is science-related stuff that happened in October. Last week, Obama launched a big science curriculum initiative that included visits from high school kids interested in science. It made all the geek blogs, but not the MSM:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/educate-innovate
You’d think the “science correspondent” of the AP might at least mention some more current events as he was pissing all over geeks. I mean, there was a video of a geeky kid showing his science project to Obama. That would be worth a half-dozen derisive paragraphs.
It’s not just the wankery — it’s the laziness that really pisses me off.
SpotWeld
We have a president who thinks before acting…
Why is there such a demand to stop and comment on this.
It’s only in popular fiction that a “from-the-gut” leading man actually wins.
Reality is much more like a game of chess (or perhaps baseball) long and for the most part boring except for those occasional instances where a moment of unexpected action occcurs. And in those instances luck favors the prepared!
jrg
Lay off the writer. He’s probably just writing about Science Fiction because it’s impossible to write about Science without pissing off creationists.
…And we all know it’s the job of the press to kowtow to people who have no idea what the fuck is going on. To do otherwise would be too detail oriented and “logical”. No one would take him seriously anymore.
SpotWeld
It’s also worth pointing out that
1) Spock consistantly kicked Kirk’s ass on many occasions
2) Spock had all the fangirls
Interrobang
I’m with most people here — I don’t mind the Spock comparison (it beats most of the other ones, and, alienness aside, is still orders of magnitude less racist than the usual suspects), mostly because, hey, Spock! Spock is cool! Spock is the man. (I wish Obama were more like Spock, actually.)
I also love, love, love Steerpike’s metaphor. Dude, why don’t you have your own blog? Everywhere you show up, you bring the funny in spades. Very amusing spades.
Star Trek and metaphorics on Balloon Juice. The universe obviously loves me a lot today. Thanks, guys!
gwangung
@Steerpike: I thought Pakled was a better comparison. Or are you talking about Ferengi pre-DS 9?
The Bearded Blogger
These are the phases of grieving:
1)Denial
2) Anger
3) Bargaining
4) Depression
5) Acceptance
The villagers are at 3, they want to act as if Dubya is still the president. Baggers, of course, are at 2. McCain, Cheney, Palin, are at 1. I don’t think any of them are reaching 5 before their asses are kicked again in 2012, when they’ll be back at one and saying that ACORN something something.
Sarcastro
Spock consistantly kicked Kirk’s ass on many occasions…
What can you expect from a simpering, devil-eared freak whose father was a computer and his mother an encyclopedia?
Steerpike
I find it ironic that, before Obama, “Vulcans” was used to describe Bush’s War Cabinet–Rumsfeld, Rice, Armitage, Cheney, Wolfowitz and Powell–a term W coined himself to describe them. In that case, the nickname implied a group of dispassionate, logical, worldly and knowlegable advisors. In reality, they were (with the possible exception of Powell) narrow-minded, war-mongering ideologues, guided by fear, political calculation, quasi-religious zeal and jingoism–anything but logic.
gwangung
@Sarcastro: Does this make Biden our Leonard McCoy?
arguingwithsignposts
So we have two front pagers requesting death by firing squad? We are all sieves now.
cleek
Spock = alien, intellectual, elitist, arrogant and out of touch with humanity. you know, all the things the wingnuts have been trying to pin on him for two years…
only geeks think Spock is cool.
gex
What is really important is to continue the meme of Obama being weird, alien, and different. It’s mostly harmless, I guess. But I worry that it is also a bit dangerous to keep painting a picture of Obama as alien. It’s not like that isn’t the specific goal of his enemies.
tripletee
I wonder if Obama ever had a goatee? That would make it likely that he’s actually the Mirror Universe Spock. Citizen journalists – to your Research Mobiles! And keep moving, or he’ll Tantulus-Device your ass.
cleek
um… i think Ajax Edit Comments has gone insane
gex
@gex: I should say, what is really important to the Village is to continue the meme of Obama being weird, alien, and different.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@valdemar:
The Emperor Napolean III and Kaiser Wilhelm II send their regards. This isn’t an American thing – it’s what always happens when a populace gets imperial delusions of grandeur. Moronic leadership and the consequences which follow don’t always cure the disease, but they are predictable consequences of its progress.
gex
@cleek: I didn’t even know Ajax Edit Comments was back. Is it a Firefox thing? Was the focus on the Microsoft implementation of javascript?
DBrown
@valdemar: Thank you – you seem to understand us better than you think. Please post more often.
freelancer
@arguingwithsignposts:
swish.
Also:
Now, I’m no Trekkie. For the most part, I can’t stand the entire universe, but because of the show’s pop culture penetration, I can’t help but know certain things.
If Obama is Spock, doesn’t that make McCain the battle-ravaged Captain Pike? How long before he’s wheeled onto MTP in a beeping black box?
gwangung
Except Pike was/is competent.
Maybe Commodore Decker or Garth of Izar would be more appropriate…
Xanthippas
DougJ, I was going to get onto you for being too critical, that surely the article is written tongue-in-cheek, all in good fun, etc., etc. I want to apologize for the thought even crossing my mind: that article is full of dumb.
Sometimes, I wish Star Trek and Star Wars had never existed, so people who don’t know anything about either (or science fiction in general) wouldn’t automatically reach for either of them when they want to write a science fiction-ish column.
cmorenc
Let’s get with the “Star Trek” motif, and point out how much Dick Cheney resembles a Klingon.
FDRLincoln
We went through the Trek analogies last week.
McCain is Commodore Matt Decker from “The Doomsday Machine.”
The current GOP is run by Garth of Izar and Ron Tracey. Sarah Palin is one of the bimbos from “Spock’s Brain.”
Brain and brain, what is brain?
gbear
@gwangung:
David Plouffe is Scotty.
gbear
W was Commodore Matt Decker, except for the ‘grief and guilt’ part.
Poopyman
No, no. You’re confusing him with Davros.
Come to think of it, there’s a lot of McCain in Davros.
Poopyman
Articles like this only serve to remind me that people who write for the AP are the ones you saw in college taking the “Science for Liberal Arts Majors” class and barely passing. I wonder if being the “Science Writer” means he’s lowest on the org chart?
The Republic of Stupidity
@Steerpike:
Hmmm… I think you’re on the verge of crafting a new word here… ludicous… perhaps you were reaching for some hybrid
of ‘bellicose’ and ‘ludicrous’?
Belludicose? Belludicrous? Whichever one you go w/, it works for me…
The Republic of Stupidity
I think it’s’ worth pointing out here that once again, the only way some people can relate to reality anymore is thru fictional characters.
This strikes me as not being unlike Scalia claiming ‘Jack Bauer saved LA’ or righties constantly making Starwars references in their political commentaries.
Tonybrown74
I give up ….
I’m moving to Europe …
Ed in NJ
This doesn’t bother me so much.
Our last president was compared to a cowboy and Alfred E. Neumann. I consider this a step up.
Xanthippas
For some reason that word makes me laugh.
Jay B.
Similarly, Vaughn is a robot!
Senyordave
Maybe Commodore Decker or Garth of Izar would be more appropriate…
Decker at least had some level of self-awareness, and Garth apparently was a brillian military leader prior to his going insane.
cyd
I’m amazed that no one’s pointed out that Bill Clinton would make a great James Tiberius Kirk.
Security Commander Nyder
@Poopyman
The difference? Davros was a genius.
jenniebee
So, who do you see as the Kirk equivalent in the Obama slash fiction? Bill Clinton’s the all-too obvious choice.
Does this mean that Obama will sacrifice himself to save us all and then be reborn as the unforeseen consequence of a massive science experiment also, too?
Johnny Pez
@Steerpike:
That turns out not to be the case.
Bokonon
As Anatole France once said, “A nation of sheep in time begets a government of wolves.”
This is utter, complete crap. Completely unserious. Unworthy of a high school newspaper or a celebrity mag like People or Us.
This is not journalism. This is entertainment and celebrity worship (and hate-ship). And it is killing this nation.
Sentient Puddle
@Johnny Pez: Yikes, the article almost reads like it’s a parody, especially with the pictures and captions. “Paul Wolfowitz: Vulcan and Bush’s Deputy Secretary of Defense.”
Poopyman
Point taken.
Randy P
@jrg:
I had a different take on this. More than anything, it reminded me of the kind of prose which Scientific American has leaned toward in recent years. This kind of writing (“the atoms bounce around like teenyboppers at a Brittany Spears concert…”) drove away many long-time readers. It used to be the go-to magazine for working scientists who wanted to get up to speed in a research area not their own. I think there’s still some science there but you have to wade through this kind of pop culture dreck to find it.
Randy P
OK, I have a confession to make. I was thinking a little about Star Trek last night. Not Spock, but Picard. As in a commander in chief who talks about diplomacy first.
Notorious P.A.T.
@gex:
Gex how are you doing, if you don’t mind my asking?
R-Jud
@cmorenc: Eh, I always thought of Cheney as more of a Hutt, myself.
Poopyman
@Randy P
Try Science News.
Shawn in ShowMe
@Randy P
I can see that.
Obama – Picard
Joe Biden – Riker
Michelle – Dr. Crusher
David Plouffe – Geordi
Gen. McChrystal – Worff
Valerie Jarrett – Guinan
Palooza
It is completely absurd that we are even having this conversation. Really it is. The media wants us to debate whether our President is similar to an imaginary alien being from a 1960s B-television show. Why……? We are fucked.
bayville
The writer is a longtime hack.
Palooza
It is completely absurd that we are even having this conversation. Really it is. The media wants us to debate whether our President is similar to an imaginary alien being from a 1960s B-television show. An alien that apparently is bad for some reason. Why……? We are fucked.
Randy P
@Shawn in ShowMe:
I really like this casting. And somehow thinking of McChrystal with a leafy Klingon forehead really tickles me.
gwangung
I’m glad no one automatically brought up Capt. Benjamin Sisko.
Makewi
Too funny. Obama hasn’t accomplished squat through international co-operation. In fact, the “decadent” governments of Europe find much to criticize.
gwangung
Lying isn’t funny, though.
Emma Anne
Cheney is a Romulan.
Makewi
@gwangung:
Name something.
Delia
@Makewi:
China and Russia getting on board with sanctions against Iran.
noncarborundum
@Brian J: The definitive Kermit and Miss Piggy were Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, but that was another lifetime.
binzinerator
@cleek:
This.
@Palooza
The teabaggers, birfers, racists and bigots (but I believe I am repeating myself here) have spent months bitching about “Obama’s not one of us”, “take back our country”, “where’s the vault copy”, which are nothing more than thinly veiled expressions of their racism and xenophobia. And now with the Spock comparison they just found an even more acceptable vehicle of expression of the same.
For a Bircher the reason an alien is bad is precisely because of the alien-ness. And this is black president is bad and cannot be a legitimate president — because he is black. In fact, for the GOP Base a black man is not really an American citizen because of his blackness.
They might allow non-whites to count as 3/5s of a citizen. I believe they were once OK with that.
General Winfield Stuck
@Delia:
China on emissions. But wingnuts don’t believe in emissions, lest they be the nocturnal kind from torture dreams.
noncarborundum
@cmorenc: Minus the honor. Klingons are never (will never be?) afraid to die for the cause; in fact, they’ll insist on leading the charge. Cheney, eh, not so much.
Poopyman
@Binzinerator:
If I could remember the nondeprecated HTML for strikethrough I’d replace “citizen” with “person”, ‘cuz that’s what it was. But the larger point is that I don’t even think they’d go for that.
Makewi
@Delia:
Really? Try again.
gwangung
@Makewi: Recent emissions agreements with Russian and China. Nuclear non proliferation with the Russians. Working with the UN nuclear watchdog to censure Iran. Movement toward pulling missles in South China. Progress in reforming the exchange rate on the dollar.
Probably more, but that’s off the top of my head.
gwangung
@Makewi: COmpare and contrast with the censure. YOU try again.
noncarborundum
@Poopyman:
The last time I tried it, a hyphen on either side of the word/phrase to be struck through would do the trick. Let’s see if that’s still true.
Makewi
@gwangung:
None of this is done, and much of this isn’t new. Words are merely words. Get back to me when there is action taken on any of these.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Someone snaps a pic of Obama at the beach: WAAAH TOO CASUAL!
Obama bows to the Emperor of Japan: WAAAH TOO DEFERENTIAL!
Obama takes the time to consider an important decision: WAAAAH TOO LOGICAL!
Here’s hoping the Goldilocks brigade finds some porridge that is juuuust right. Before I have to choke them.
Makewi
I weep for your failure to comprehend or even accurately portray history.
kay
I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s a throwaway piece, and weirdly affectionate.
Most of those things are true about Obama, although I don’t know about the “fascination with science”.
I like his demeanor. He’s even-tempered and level-headed, and impossible to rattle. If that makes him Spock-like, well, FINE.
Zifnab
@Makewi:
Translation: It doesn’t count till I say it counts! And even if it does count, I refuse to congratulate anyone that isn’t a Republican!
I remember back in the 80s when the very talk of nuclear disarmament sent Republicans into tizzy fits. Now they can’t scream loud enough about how it was all their idea. I remember reading Reagen’s passionate speeches against the horror of Medicare. Now Michael Steele won’t shut up about our need to “save” it from an expansion to the non-elderly. And Bush was talking about withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan as far back as 2003.
Suck it, Dems.
Poopyman
Really?
-Cool!-
Makewi
@Zifnab:
No, it means exactly what I said it means. Both Bush and Clinton had assurances from N. Korea regarding nukes. Words are cheap, actions count.
geg6
You know, one of these days I’d really like to see what BOB and Makewi look like. Just to see if they really look as stupid as they sound. I have found, throughout my many years on this planet, that, often, the correlation is very, very strong.
Redshirt
Ah. Trek. Let me enjoy.
You know, it’s a fine line between a Vulcan and a Romulan. Very fine.
Makewi
@geg6:
Once again, the personal is the political. I disagree with what they say, so they must be ugly.
You may be old, but sadly you never grew up.