The Presidential Turkey Pardon, “Hunger Games” Edition
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The White House(WASHINGTON) — It’s the Thanksgiving Hunger Games. Two turkeys — Popcorn and Caramel — are up for tribute at the White House. Both will be pardoned by President Obama and spared from the dinner table, but only one can win the title of National Thanksgiving Turkey.
The White House on Tuesday pitted the two contenders against each other and asked the public to cast their vote for the winner online. In order to make an educated decision, the White House set up a website highlighting the turkeys’ likes and physical attributes, including recordings of their gobbles.
Hatched on the same day at a farm near Badger, Minn., “Caramel and Popcorn may have been raised together, but each has flown their own path,” the White House notes. “Caramel is a steady and deliberate bird that enjoys soybean meal and rocking out to Lady Gaga. When Popcorn is feeling peckish, he can’t stop snacking on his namesake, corn, and has been known to strut around to Beyonce’s ‘Halo.’”
The tradition of granting turkeys their freedom dates back to 1963 when President Kennedy sent that year’s gift from the National Turkey Federation back to the farm, declaring “we’ll just let this one grow.” President George H.W. Bush was the first to grant a turkey an official presidential pardon in 1989.
Obama continues the tradition on Wednesday. In the afternoon, he will ceremoniously declare a winner and send the two lucky birds to live out their days in retirement on the charmed Mount Vernon estate.
But the spared birds’ freedom is often short lived. All eight of the turkeys pardoned by Obama so far have reportedly moved on to greener pastures.
To be fair, the average turkey lifespan is roughly three to four years and Obama is not the first president with a poor track record in this department.
Hopefully the turkeys pardoned on Wednesday will have better luck.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio