Obama pardons Thanksgiving turkeys ‘Apple’ and ‘Cider’
By ANIThursday, November 25, 2010
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has pardoned Thanksgiving turkeys ‘Apple’ and ‘Cider’, but the two won’t be making the traditional trip to Disney Land.
“Now, for the record, let me say that it feels pretty good to stop at least one shellacking this November,” the Christian Science Monitor quoted Obama as saying, referring to the beating Democrats took in the Nov. 2 midterm elections.
According to the White House, the birds are 21 weeks old, weigh 45 pounds each, and hail from Foster Farms Wellsford Ranch outside Modesto, Calif.
Once pardoned, the turkeys will be driven to George Washington’s estate in Mount Vernon, Va. Apple will be on display there until Jan. 6, after which both turkeys will live at the homestead’s livestock facility.
However, they won’t be taken to Disneyland and no one knows why.
The first official turkey presentation is said to have been to the Truman administration, but those birds wound up on the dinner table.
In 1963, upon being presented a live bird, President Kennedy said, “Let’s just keep him.”
But the formal pardoning tradition didn’t begin until 1989, under President George H.W. Bush.
In addition to the two live turkeys, two dressed turkeys were presented to the Obama family by Jaindl’s Turkey Farm in Orefield, Pa. They will be given to Martha’s Table, a Washington, DC, charity that helps people in need. (ANI)
