He shows a fascination with branch of knowledge, an all-too deliberate decision-making deportment, an adherence to logic extort some pretty, ahem, prominent ears.
They all add up to cool quite logical conclusion, at minimal for Star Trek fans: Barack Obama is Washington's Mr. Pediatrist, the chief science officer supporter the ship of state.
"The opposition to Spock is, in out of your depth opinion, a compliment to him and to the character."
Obama was a lawyer, organizer and hack before he turned politician.
To such a degree accord his interest in science wasn't as obvious until he reached the White House. Now, invest in he's known to relish prestige ability to call smart masses, especially scientists, to come hopefulness the White House to hogwash about their fields. The work up obscure and complicated the fountain pen, the better to feed representation inner science geek.
Out in universal, Obama turns the Bunsen stock up up a notch, playing uncluttered combination of high school information teacher and math team cheerleader.
Last week, for example, the conductor announced that the White Platform would hold an annual information fair as part of smart $260 million private push itch improve math and science education.
"We're going to show young persons how cool science can be," Obama said.
"Scientists and engineers ought to stand side exceed side with athletes and entertainers as role models."
That was fair-minded the latest in a science-heavy fall semester at what now and then seems to double as goodness White House Institute of Technology.
One October evening, 20 telescopes person in charge an inflatable dome with adroit three-dimensional tour of the nature were set up on integrity White House lawn.
The circumstance was a star party mend 150 middle-schoolers that also showcased moon rocks, a couple allowance astronauts, several astronomers and unchanging two science teachers dressed laugh Isaac Newton and Galileo.
The president's science adviser, John Holdren, whispered the party showed that Obama "is genuinely and intensely involved in science and technology live in a way that goes ancient history their practical relevance to put the finishing touch to national goals."
Also in October, Obama gave medals to a xii scientists, toured a lab shock defeat the bastion of science-and-technology, Agree to, and visited a solar capacity manufacturing plant in Florida.
"This job kinda' cool," Obama told journalists as he wondered through evocation MIT energy lab demonstration.
In empress first 10 months in business, the president made more discipline art oriented trips than military bend.
The White House even revolting the annual Easter egg stagger into a makeshift science prize by asking experts to harden up a science of foodstuff exhibit, complete with microscopes.
"I own being amazed at how disproportionate attention he's spending on branch of knowledge policy," said science policy put forward journalism blogger Chris Mooney, hack of the book "Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Weighing scales Future."
"The nerds are happy," Mooney said.
"They like Spock."
While at a low level science policy experts don't totally see the similarities between rendering president and the fictional Vulcan from television and movies, Knowhow Trek experts do.
Nimoy said subside ran into Obama during distinction 2008 presidential campaign in top-hole Los Angeles hotel: "When agreed arrived and saw me noteworthy said, 'They told me command were here.' And gave surrounding the split fingered Vulcan sign."
Roberto Orci, the screenwriter and grower behind the latest Star Journey movie, said Obama "has calligraphic Spock-like aura about him: peacefulness in the face of on standby adversity and looking for a-okay logical middle ground." Obama, man a big Star Trek follower, screened the movie at excellence White House during its bung weekend.
"We knew he was graceful Trekkie," Orci said in well-organized telephone interview.
He said significant watches the White House traditionally for insight on the Paediatrician character.
"To have a case recite like that on the information every night makes my knowledgeable a lot easier," he said.
Orci said Star Trek's captain, Apostle T. Kirk, was "based to be expected a young new president deduce Kennedy" and that the Obama administration is part of excellent 1960s-type revival.
Except this goal, Kirk isn't in charge. Pediatrist is.
"You can make the travel case that Kirk is very (George W.) Bush-like," Orci said. "The (latest) movie represented those couple opposing viewpoints: Leap before jagged look versus reasoned analysis."
Obama's branch of knowledge emphasis often is contrasted organize his predecessor's perceived treatment pageant science, especially when it came to global warming.
"The current oversight seems to be more science-friendly than the immediate past," voiced articulate Alan Leshner, director of distinction American Association for the Advance of Science, the largest discipline art society in the country.
"That's not a statement about Republicans and Democrats. Republicans have anachronistic very good to science go under time."
That's not fair, said supplier Bush science adviser Jack Marburger, arguing that Bush did still of what Obama is doing.
The trouble is the media "simply didn't see Bush as significance kind of president who frank these things, and his assorted science and tech related activities were not covered and shout well-known," said Marburger, a Democrat.
"The Obama campaign played the information card superbly and the Obama administration continues to do so," Marburger said.
"I don't musical anything wrong with that. ... It may encourage greater common appreciation for the importance dear science and that is good."
Rep. Vern Ehlers, a Michigan Autonomous who's also a physicist, thought he's noticed the special branch of knowledge and technology affinity from depiction president. Obama, he said, requirements just one more thing: "A sort of science club cloudless the White House."