Presidential Turkey Pardons: A Look Back (SLIDESHOW)

To celebrate President Bush's annual (and final) Thanksgiving turkey pardon this morning--as the nation recovers from the Sarah Palin turkey incident--here's a look at other birds that have been spared slaughter by past presidents.

**See more photos of Pumpkin, this year's particularly funny-looking bird.**

• • • • • • • • President Kennedy receives a turkey as a gift, complete with a sign that says "Good Eating, Mr. President."

Comments

[metivo]

Geeez, the photo with Bush I is pathetic! No body around and dull, dull, dull. Get with it, George.

[Samalabear]

It is a ridiculous ritual. How can you pardon four-legged and two-legged creatures of the non-human variety? I agree with the comment earlier about this. We're the ones who need to be pardoned for what we do to these creatures on a daily basis. And do you really think these turkeys, bred for human consumption, are not eventually killed? I don't believe that for one second.

[hotstuff]

where Sarah Palins Horror Turkey Show at ?

[MrWampler]

This has got to be the silliest ritual ever...

[PDXTransplant]

I heard Cheney sh ot and k|lled it right after the pardon...yelling there will be no more pardons!

[Pegi]

LOL!

[pjean]

oh by the way, the turkey pardoning a turkey comment was in reference to our 43rd president George W. Bush

[pjean]

oh wow look, a turkey pardoning a turkey.

[LeLoup]

See the last Onion Network video on that one. Pretty hilarious!

[demigod]

I saw the first part of Sarah Palin's "pardon" - she was inside a shed among the turkeys, reading a long, drawn-out proclamation, poorly, making many mistakes, clearly she had not written it and had no interest in it. Then, once finished, she had to choose a turkey to save, and she clearly had no interest in that either, one turkey was the same as another to her, she finally picked a "big one", pointing to one closest to her. They grabbed that turkey and made a big deal of "pardoning" it. David Schuster broke in on the film, and warned that the rest was not for the squeamish. So I turned the channel, and didn't see it for several days. But then you couldn't avoid seeing the rest of the film - the horror in the background as Sarah ran her mouth. Who knows what she said, all eyes were riveted on the action behind her. Bloody Sarah never flinched, she was having fun !

[solarian]

the bird get off every year. but look at all the turkeys that bush has pard get out of jail free cards

[AmandaBC]

I think this is the one that will remain in the history books:

http://wonkette.com/images/thumbs/b860e00d80a24619f698a75ef69ed455.jpg

Poor turkey, de.ath would have been more merciful...

[demigod]

Turkeys like nuts.

[ashabot]

Except to Pumpkin, this is yet another meaningless token nod towards peaceful co-existence.

[johnmeeks1974]

Laura Bush was not hospitalized. It was Barbara Bush. The turkey photo-op is truly outdated. It is supposed to create the impression that the President and his family will forgo eating turkey on Thanksgiving. Could you imagine the supposed scene?
Chef: Time to cook Thanksgiving dinner.
Bush: Sorry, I pardoned the turkey!
Chef: What will we do?
Bush: Let's all have couscous!!!
It's time for this absurdity to end. And, btw, where are Johnson and Carter? Did they not pardon turkeys, too?

[4everdem]

The bigger question is how many more will be pardoned before January 20th?

[me again]

The only turkey in this year's photo is Bush and he should not be pardoned.

[KKL]

The very idea of "pardoning" a turkey is ludicrous. Turkeys do not commit crimes from which they need pardon. What they could use is to simply be allowed to live their lives on earth undisturbed. "Pardoning" one turkey is not cute. It's merely a reminder that millions are brutally slaughtered. If you were as horrified as I was seeing the turkeys being slaughtered while Sarah Palin watched smiling and completely undisturbed in one of her recent television appearances, boycott eating turkey this Thanksgiving. We don't need to participate in the suffering of others for our protein needs. There are plenty of other protein sources for our human nutritional needs.

[Ravenback47]

These turkeys are bred specifically for human consumption. These turkeys don't have any survival instincts. They have been genetically altered to provide more meat for people to eat. If they were allowed to live their lives, they would simply starve to death because they don't even know how to get food. These particular turkeys aren't even naturally occurring in nature. However, I agree that pardoning turkeys is a stupid concept. They are bred to be eaten, so why should people get a conscience over turkeys slaughtered for food.

[LarBear]

Really now??? Bush pardoned the Turkey and then turned it lose... But, Sarah Palin slipped in and with a bloody growl, bit it's head off???