Yes. This is real. and it is hilarious.
President Obama today "Pardoned" two turkeys from the "Thanksgiving dinner table." They are to live the rest of their lives in a special presidential enclosure in the Mt. Vernon Estate, former home of George Washington. I find it very funny that these two turkeys are living it up in
If you want a good laugh (and by good laugh I mean Obama talking to a turkey) check out the video here
Happy Thanksgiving!
9 comments:
A little sickening perhaps...but at least Obama pardoned two turkeys. A little sad to think about though. Nevertheless, this is not a publicity stunt. We should not attack the president on any fun activities he partakes in as though they were publicity stunts. The president is a normal person...he can enjoy life too, even if that means pardoning a couple turkeys from the dinner table.
I find this to be completely ridiculous. Ok, so Obama "pardoned" these two turkeys. But didn't he still eat another one, which maybe wasn't as beautiful, at his Thanksgiving table? This tradition also makes a joke of the president's special right to pardon. They're birds for goodness sakes! This seems like a convoluted attempt to make up for all of the turkeys we slaughter on Thanksgiving by "saving" - or, excuse me - "pardoning," two of them.
I don't believe this is a publicity stunt, because the event has been going on every year for all the presidents since 1989. Though I agree the event serves no real purpose if the President decides to eat a different turkey for thanksgiving dinner.
I kind of like that the spirit of the event is meant to be more humorous(like the president's ability to pardone death row inmates or something). But for those who think it is a SICK event should not stuff the same bird they feel pity into their mouths. We ALL know its mean to kill all these birds just for a dinner but I feel that most people don't care enough to acknowledge these birds as more than food. So if this nonchalant attitude is the norm for Americans, I don't see a problem with the Pres pardoning some turkeys. Plus, there are better things to criticize the Pres on.
BTW my mom works in the airport and she SAW the turkeys get boarded on First class I think. Let me know if you want to see the pictures
Of course it's a publicity stunt. It's just like the White House Christmas tree or any number of other silly traditions that happen every year at the White House. But, at the end of the day, it's pretty harmless. After all, the president should get to have some fun, too. Admittedly, it's a bit odd that hwo turkeys got saved just because they were beautiful, but two turkeys saved is probably better than none. I agree with Anjana; it's a nice gesture but it's not something most of us really care about all that much. And honestly, at this point, I think that's fine. There are a lot of moral hurdles to get over before our society is consumed with the problem of the morality of eating meat. Let's talk about that one once we get there.
I don't really think that this should be made that big of a deal of. Obviously our president has a good (and healthy!) sense of humor (I have definitely seen pictures of him being a fun-loving guy) and so I think it's perfectly fine for him to, as Conor put it, "enjoy life" like the rest of us. Even if, as Laura said, the tradition holds no real purpose, I feel as though this is a good way for the president to take a little break during the holidays and enjoy himself.
So I guess you could say these turkeys are a lot like people in the United States. Living it up for winning a beauty contest? Being subjected to being judged for beauty? It seems that we're ironically just mimicking what's already going on with thousands of people already. But what can I say? People like both and look upon them as traditional icons of their nation. So do I find this sick? A bit, yes, but oh well... I guess without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as a frozen turkey.
This is HILARIOUS. I watched the video, and clearly everyone including Obama knows it is a joke. I honestly think its a good thing to have some light-hearted humor from our leaders, it highlights the human side of the typically detached way most of our political leaders address the American people.
Sure, this is pretty much a meaningless traditon that's loaded with irony, but it's still a nice little thing that happens. Can you imagine what would have happened if Obama had refused to pardon the turkeys because he thought it was a stupid tradition? They probably would have called him an animal hater who wants all innocent creatures to be slaughtered and eaten and that he's unamerican and hates American traditions. But instead of that debacle and scandal, we get a funny video of the president talking to a turkey. That sounds just fine to me.
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