Obama finds ‘Courage’ and pardons the turkey
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Following a tradition that dates from the first Bush administration, President Obama today pardoned a turkey, giving a bird named Courage a new lease on life and a chance to go to Disneyland.
Flanked by his daughters, Malia and Sasha, Obama issued the official pardon for the bird donated by the National Turkey Federation, a tradition that goes back to the Truman administration.
“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,” Obama said.
“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,” the president said.
Obama related how turkeys have been coming to the White House since Truman, though Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson reportedly ate theirs. It was the first President Bush who issued the first formal pardon of a turkey.
It was initially a jocular scene as Obama recounted how with the pardon and other donations, jobs had been created for four turkeys by his administration, which has made job creation a key focus and whose accounting practices have come under increasing scrutiny.
“Today all told, I think it is fair to say we have saved or created four turkeys,” Obama said to chuckles.
-- Michael Muskal
