Posted November 27, 2014 08:59:56
President Barack Obama has made his 'most talked-about executive action' this month by pardoning a pair of turkeys.
Mr Obama made the light-hearted quip while performing the annual pardon of the National Thanksgiving Turkey at a ceremony at the White House.
'I know some will call this an amnesty,' he said, making a tongue-in-cheek reference to an executive order he made in relation to immigration last week.
'Today I am taking an action fully within my legal authority, an executive action taken by Democrat and Republican presidents before me, to spare the lives of two turkeys ... from a terrible and delicious fate.'
Two birds - Mac and Cheese - were in contention for the title of the National Thanksgiving Turkey but after a strong Twitter campaign, #TeamCheese emerged victorious in the public vote.
Attending the ceremony with his daughters, Mr Obama addressed the famed and feathered White House visitor.
'Alright Cheese, you are hereby pardoned from the Thanksgiving dinner table,' he said, jokingly adding that the bird looked 'pretty happy about it'.
While only one turkey could be officially pardoned in the Thanksgiving tradition, both birds were spared from the dinner table.
'Let's face it, if you're a turkey and you're named after a side dish, your chances of escaping Thanksgiving dinner are pretty low ... these guys really beat the odds,' Mr Obama said.
The White House described Cheese as a 'feather-shaker with a rhythmic gobble that loves to cheese it up for the camera'.
Mac, who will be enjoying his retirement from presidential duties alongside Cheese at a historic turkey farm in Virginia, had a 'grand champion style strut' and a gobble with a 'country ring to it', the White House said.
US presidents have been pardoning turkeys since the 1800s as part of the country's national Thanksgiving holiday.
Topics:offbeat, community-and-society, united-states
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, November 26, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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