At the White House, it was Courage the Turkey who received the official Obama Thanksgiving pardon. As seen in the pictures and video below, accompanied by his daughters, Sasha and Malia, President Barack Obama continued the tradition begun by the first President Bush twenty years ago.
The 45-pound pardoned turkey had been raised in Goldesboro, North Carolina and was donated by Walter Pelletier, chairman of the National Turkey Federation, who along with the federation’s president, Joel Brandenberger, appeared alongside Obama at the ceremony held at the White House Rose Garden.
The President said:
“There are certain days that remind me of why I ran for this office and then there are moments like this when I pardon a turkey and send it to Disneyland.
“But every single day I am thankful for the extraordinary responsibility that the American people have placed in me. I am humbled by the privilege that it is to serve them.”
As seen in the photos and video below, in pardoning the turkey, Obama raised his hand and said, in mock seriousness, “I hereby pardon Courage, so that he can live out the rest of his days in peace and tranquility — in Disneyland.”
The President also express his thankfulness for U.S. troops, saying:
“I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to every service member at home or in harm’s way. We’re proud of you, and we are thinking of you and we’re praying for you,” he said. “This is an era of new perils and new hardships. But we are, as ever, a people of endless compassion, boundless ingenuity, limitless strength.”
A second turkey was spared that day and will go to Disneyland with Courage. Two of the turkeys were sent to a Washington, DC soup kitchen, Martha’s Table. Obama said, mocking the language characteristic of his administration’s economic stimulus plan: “So today, all told, I believe it’s fair to say that we have saved or created four turkeys.”
Since the 1940s Truman administration, the National Turkey Federation has delivered turkeys to the White House, but it was the 41st President, George H.W. Bush who was the first to give a turkey a formal pardon, a tradition that subsequent presidents have continued.
The pardoned bird will live out the rest of his life in California at Disneyland, and will appear as grand marshal at the park’s Thanksgiving Day parade. That is the fortunate story of Courage the Turkey who received the official Obama Thanksgiving Pardon.
Photos: Carrie Devorah / WENN.com, www.wenn.com