English subtitles for clip: File:President Obama Pardons Turkey 2010.webm

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The President:
Please, everybody, have a seat.

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Good morning.

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Audience:
Good morning.

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The President:
I have my two trusty assistants here --

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(laughter)

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-- Malia and Sasha for one of the most important duties that I

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carry out as President.

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Before everybody heads home for
Thanksgiving,

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there is one official duty I am
sworn to uphold as the leader of

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the most powerful nation on
Earth.

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Today, I have the awesome
responsibility of granting a

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presidential pardon to a pair of
turkeys.

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Now, for the record, let me say
that it feels pretty good to

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stop at least one shellacking
this November.

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(laughter)

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This year's national turkey goes
by the name of Apple,

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and his feathered understudy is
appropriately named Cider.

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They are being presented today
by the Chairman of the National

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Turkey Federation, Yubert Envia
--

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and I want to just point out
that Yubert seems very

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comfortable with that turkey.

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(laughter)

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As well as the man who helped
raise and handle them since

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birth, Ira Brister.

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Where's Ira?

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There's Ira.

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Give Ira a big round of applause
for raising such outstanding turkeys.

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(applause)

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I want to thank you both for
joining us here at the White House.

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Now, Apple and Cider came to us
from the Foster Farms Wellsford

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Ranch, just outside of Modesto,
California.

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Out of about 20,000 turkeys born
at Foster Farms this summer,

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25 were selected for a final
competition that involved

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strutting their stuff before a
panel of judges with an eclectic

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mix of music playing in the
background.

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(laughter)

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It's kind of like a turkey
version of "Dancing With the Stars" --

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(laughter)

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-- except the stakes for the contestants was much higher.

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(laughter)

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Only one pair would survive and
win the big prize: life --

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(laughter)

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-- and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington,

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where they've been living it up
on corn feed at the W hotel.

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The W hotel has really been
putting them up.

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(laughter)

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It's great advertising.

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(laughter)

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It makes you want to stay at the
W.

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(laughter)

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And after today, Apple and Cider
will spend their retirement at

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the same beautiful place our
first President spent his --

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Mount Vernon, Virginia.

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So later this afternoon, our
family will also deliver two

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turkeys who didn't quite make
the cut to Martha's Table,

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which is an organization that
does extraordinary work helping

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folks who are struggling here in
D.C.

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And I want to thank the good people at Jaindl's Turkey Farm

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in Orefield, Pennsylvania, who have now donated these turkeys

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two years in a row.

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Now this, of course, is what's truly meant by Thanksgiving --

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a holiday that asks us to be
thankful for what we have,

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and generous to those who have
less.

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It's a time to spend with the
ones we love,

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and a chance to show compassion
and concern to people we've

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never met.

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It's a tradition that's brought
us together as a community since

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before we were a nation, when
the ground we're standing on was

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nothing but wilderness.

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Back then, the simple act of
survival was often the greatest

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blessing of all.

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And later, President Lincoln
declared the first national day

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of Thanksgiving in the midst of
the Civil War.

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During the depths of the Great
Depression,

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local businesses gave donations
and charities opened their doors

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to families who didn't have a
place to celebrate Thanksgiving.

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In times of war, our military
has gone through great lengths

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to give our men and women on the
front lines a turkey dinner and

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a taste of home.

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So in America, we come together
when times are hard.

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We don't give up.

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We don't complain.

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And we don't turn our backs on
one another.

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Instead, we look out for another
and we pitch in and we give what we can.

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And in the process, we reveal to
the world what we love so much

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about this country.

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That's who we are.

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And that's who Thanksgiving
reminds us to be.

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So I hope everyone takes some
time during this holiday season

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to give back and serve their
community in some way.

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And I also want to take a moment
to say how grateful I am to the

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men and women who are serving
this country bravely and

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selflessly in places far away
from home right now.

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You and your families are in our
thoughts and in our prayers,

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and you make me so very proud to
be your Commander-in-Chief.

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So on behalf of Michelle, Sasha,
Malia and myself,

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I want to wish everybody a
wonderful and happy and safe Thanksgiving.

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And now, it is my great honor,
as well,

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to give Apple and Cider a new
lease on life.

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So as President of the United
States,

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you are hereby pardoned from the
Thanksgiving dinner table.

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(laughter)

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May you have a wonderful and
joyful life at Mount Vernon.

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God bless you and God bless the
United States of America.

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(applause)

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Ah, do you see?

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He made a little noise to thank me.

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Mr. Envia:
He agrees.

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The President:
Let's go take a closer look at him.

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Mr. Envia:
Mr. President, I'd like to --

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The President:
Now, that's some kind of wattle.

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Mr. Envia:
-- introduce you to Apple.

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(laughter)

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The President:
You have my blessing.

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(laughter)

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Mr. Envia:
Pet -- on the back of the head?

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The President:
Do you want to touch him?

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Not really?

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(laughter)

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All right.

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Yeah, buddy.

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Mr. Envia:
Keep doing that, he's going to fall asleep.

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(laughter)

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The President:
Yeah.

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Now, can somebody explain to me what the whole wattle whole

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wattle thing's about?

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Mr. Envia:
The wattle -- that's how they dissipate heat.

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The President:
That's how they dissipate heat?

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Mr. Envia:
(inaudible) they don't have sweat glands,

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so all the blood rushes to their wattle and that's how they

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dissipate heat -- through the wattle.

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The President:
Interesting.

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I guess we're glad we have sweat glands.

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(laughter)

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Otherwise we'd be carrying these around.

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(laughter)

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He feels pretty good; you want to try it?

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No?

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Okay.

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(laughter)

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All right.

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Thank you very much.

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Mr. Envia:
Thank you very much; appreciate it, thank you.

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The President
All right.

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Have a good life, man.

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(laughter)

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Mr. Envia:
Thank you.

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The President:
Thank you.